The Stylist
by keikew
Summary: Meet Sasuke, the new Marketing Executive of Uchiha Group, a large fashion conglomerate. He turns up to his first day of work in an oversized suit and last year's shoes. Appalled, Itachi finds Sasuke a personal stylist, but Naruto is so much more. SasuNaru
1. Sasuke's Problem

**Beta'd Ver. updated: 7/25/11  
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**Welcome to my first fanfic in years!**

**This new story will be very different from the last. The story is loosely about fashion, loosely about clothes, and loosely about how two very different people can help each other and develop a relationship that way. And it's actually going to be... humor. Yeah, I'm generally more used to subtle angst, but I really want to write a fun, lighthearted story, because I know they are the ones I like to read the most on FF, and the ones a lot of SasuNaru writers seem to not like writing?**

**Anyway, please keep in mind that all of the companies and jobs mentioned in this story are in no way of any direct relation to the REAL company or the REAL job - what I mean to say is, how I portray them is probably gonna be nothing like what they're like in real life. So don't expect me to be 100% accurate! I'm not, and I don't actually know what it's like to work as the so and so executive of whatever company.**

**I do not own Naruto, Giorgio Armani, Ermenegildo Zegna, Polo Ralph Lauren, or any of the other brands I happen to mention in this story. I will make this disclaimer once.**

**Now enjoy the story!**

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><p>To say that Uchiha Sasuke was nervous was an understatement. He was practically shaking underneath the new black suit he bought for this occasion. Hell, he'd been looking forward to this ever since he could remember - ever since his father began training him to follow his brother's footsteps in continuing the Uchihas' legacy in the fashion industry.<p>

Rewind a second - Sasuke and fashion? Why, the Uchiha Group, a company built by Sasuke's ancestors was the biggest fashion conglomerate in the world. It owned many different famous fashion labels as well as producing apparel and accessories under the 'UCHIHA' brand. Growing up, Sasuke was surrounded by designer labels and names of rival companies and their state in the financial world - topics naturally discussed during every dinner conversation. All in all, you could say that Sasuke was a bit of a fashion expert, at least, in terms of knowing _about_ fashion.

Right now, Sasuke was stepping out of the elevator onto the 22nd floor of the Uchiha Group building. It was a beautiful building in a shade of desert brown, that stood regally amongst many other giants in the big city square. Some say that it was the most beautiful building in the world. Dressed in his crisp black suit, Sasuke headed towards his first ever meeting with the board of directors, which included Itachi, his older brother. However - he was not attending the meeting as one of the directors - he was only a year out of college and fresh out of his father's management training course.

He had to start somewhere.

Sasuke was now the newly appointed marketing executive of the company. It was only a mid-level position, but if he performed well, he'd be promoted in a year or two.

Sasuke paused for a moment as he approached the door of the meeting room. Taking a deep breath, he patted his suit, smoothing out all the non-existent wrinkles. _Okay, you can do this_, he told himself. Swallowing quietly to lessen his anxiety, Sasuke knocked on the door lightly and entered the meeting room without another thought.

He must have stood in that doorway for about a minute, watching Itachi and all the other associates as they stared at him with their scrutinizing gazes.

Itachi cleared his throat and tilted his head, his expression unreadable - as expected. When he opened his mouth as though to speak, Sasuke felt as if a lion was doing flips in his stomach - he was seriously way too nervous for this day!

"Sasuke," Itachi began. Sasuke gulped, not quite able to guess what his brother was about to say. He wondered why he hadn't been invited to sit down.

"What... do you think you're wearing?"

Yes, Sasuke knew all about fashion, but he honestly knew nothing about clothes.

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><p>Uzumaki Naruto was a man of boundless energy. When he graduated high school, he managed to bag a job as a part-time sales associate at a large fashion company - all the while studying at college part-time. It was really funny, because at first he didn't even know the name of the company he had gotten a job at.<p>

But how could you blame him?

He applied for at least a million jobs, so of course he didn't know which one called him back... he thought it was going to be some small store in some dingy alleyway, because, who hires a fresh high school grad with no experience anyway? Not some big shot brand, and especially not... Polo Ralph Lauren! Holy shit, for real!

When he went for his interview... well, Naruto's not a slob. He was actually very well-dressed for a guy running low on cash to pay his bills, and you could say that he was very charismatic. However, he was definitely dressed too casually for the interview. In his favorite slim-fit jeans and his best pale orange button-up shirt, he looked as smart casual as he saw fit. But when he went to the company's human resources department for his interview, he honestly felt completely under-dressed, and intimidated.

Everyone there was dressed impeccably!

Some were in suits and others dressed down slightly but still carried themselves elegantly... and they just all looked so GOOD that Naruto could have sworn they were all sparkling. Oh sweet Jesus, what company was this?

Then, Naruto took the time to glance at the company logo - Polo Ralph Lauren. Oh wait, didn't it say that on the address as well... what did that mean - wait, POLO RALPH LAUREN, as in, like, POLO? That _Polo Ralph Lauren_? OH SHIT!

And so Naruto's inward freak out session ensued. He almost forgot to start filling in the form placed on the desk in front of him due to his panicking. It wasn't until the receptionist tapped him on the shoulder and asked him if something was wrong, did he settle down. She pointed over his shoulder and indicated that he needed to fill in a form on the desk.

There was a large banner above the desk that wrote, "The Human Resources Department of the Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation welcomes you. Please fill in the appropriate form and wait for the Human Resources staff to further assist you. We will meet with you shortly."

About 10 minutes later, a well-dressed man walked out from the door that led to the main office of the HR department. He asked for Naruto's name then told him to follow him into the office.

For a guy so unprepared for an interview for a large fashion company, Naruto did well. He had a natural charm that shone through and a real knack for words. In short, he was great sales material and was certain to attract loyal customers at any store he worked for. The only problem the HR staff saw with him was that he was also a part-time student and they didn't how much time he could spend on the job each week. But there really was something about him - and that something led to Naruto's recruitment as a part-time sales person at Polo Ralph Lauren, a company he had now worked at for 5 years.

Initially, he was only a part-timer and was completely disposable. But he worked hard and excelled at his job despite not being a full-timer. The store manager was especially pleased about Naruto's ability to attract customers and cause them to return and become loyal. So much so that the manager recommended Naruto to the higher-ups as a potential candidate for a supervisory role.

Yes, as a part-time college student who still needs at least a year to graduate*, Naruto was getting promoted to be an assistant store manager at Polo Ralph Lauren.

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><p>Sasuke was furious. His first day was over and the board of directors said that they would postpone his meeting until tomorrow, when he was dressed seriously for it. How could Itachi do this to him? And of all people, in front of the board of directors of the Uchiha Group. What the hell was he thinking? Okay, so maybe his suit wasn't up to par for the company, fine. Maybe he didn't style his hair (but he usually didn't anyway) - he was going for the bed head look, okay? Maybe he was wearing his scruffy black leather shoes he'd had since last year... and maybe they were not polished. But whatever! That didn't justify what Itachi did to him. He pointed all of that out to him in front of all of his other bosses - making Sasuke feel like a complete joke! This was just not fair. Just because he wasn't born with a natural ability to judge style and determine what looked good and what didn't, didn't give Itachi the right to persecute him this way!<p>

The younger Uchiha was currently sitting on the black leather cushioned seats of a sleek black Mercedes-Benz with his arms crossed like a child whose toy got snatched away. He was also sneaking deadly glares at his brother beside him who looked out the window as though nothing happened. Itachi told the driver to take them somewhere - somewhere in one of the downtown shopping areas of Konoha. Wherever it was, Itachi didn't tell him, but he would surely find out anyway. He knew for sure that his brother was personally taking him to fix his appearance. That really hurt his pride.

The car stopped outside a large shopping district with the flagship stores of many fashion brands - most of them were owned by the Uchiha Group. Stepping outside the car, Itachi motioned for Sasuke to follow. He was led inside a shop he knew to be one of Itachi's favorites. Polo Ralph Lauren. Itachi purchased almost all his suits from there, with the exception of a few, like the Ermenegildo Zegna one he had. Itachi's loyalty to Ralph Lauren was beyond Sasuke - he honestly didn't understand it. Other brands, still under the Uchiha Group, also sold similar suits - why not go for those?

Sasuke saw Itachi head towards a sales woman at the store and whisper something into her ear. She nodded and motioned for Itachi to wait before she walked off. Sasuke stared at them inquisitively but decided not to ask. Instead, he demanded Itachi to explain why his new suit didn't cut it.

"Foolish little brother," Itachi sighed under his breath. "Look at yourself properly in the mirror, will you? Your suit, it's too big for you."

Just as Itachi said, Sasuke looked at himself in the mirror. And just as Itachi said, Sasuke began to notice the signs of bagginess around his legs and the way his suit went way past his thighs. That... probably wasn't right, was it? Uh... he couldn't tell.

"Where did you get your suit?" Itachi asked.

"I got it from Armani, yesterday," Sasuke answered with a sense of pride - yes, he went shopping and bought something!

Itachi sighed again. "And pray tell, why did you spend a fortune on a suit that doesn't fit you? Why didn't the sales people tell you to size it down?"

Sasuke paused for a second, wondering about the answer to that himself, but just when he was about to respond, a loud voice disturbed the two Uchiha brothers from their conversation.

"Hello, Itachi! What can I help you with on this lovely evening?"

Both Uchihas turned to face a smiling blond man. His spiky bright blond hair was styled in a structured kind of messy. He was wearing a crisp, white button-up shirt with a Ralph Lauren logo on the breast pocket and a pair of slim-fit black pants rolled up to reveal his ankles. His shirt was only half tucked in - but it clung to the blond effortlessly like that was the way it was meant to be. On his feet were a pair of Ralph Lauren canvas boat shoes from the latest collection - that much Sasuke could tell. But what - what kind of outfit was what? Sasuke had never thought it possible to style an outfit like that.

"Let me introduce you, Naruto, this is Sasuke, my little brother, and Sasuke, this is Naruto, the assistant store manager of our Polo Ralph Lauren flagship store." Naruto held out a hand for Sasuke to shake. Reluctantly, Sasuke took the hand and shook it, ignoring the way he felt a slight spark pass through the connection.

"... He will be your personal stylist. Hopefully you two can develop a professional relationship where Naruto can assist you, and perhaps cure you, of your fashion dilemmas." With that, Itachi nodded at the two and turned to leave. "I'll be going now. Please assist him, Naruto. Call this a favor from a long-time customer." After flashing the trademark Uchiha smirk, Itachi walked out of the store and into the distance.

"I don't want a personal stylist," was the first thing Sasuke gritted out between clenched teeth. "I can very well choose my own clothes."

Naruto chuckled. The sound of his chuckling was... oddly nice... no, this was not the time to think about that!

"Well, if Itachi asks a favor of me, I gotta do it. He's one of my top customers," Naruto said with a grin. With that, he dragged Sasuke into the hell that was the men's section of the Polo Ralph Lauren store. To be honest with you, Sasuke hated shopping. He had no sense of style whatsoever and had absolutely no idea what looked good on him. Plus he hated trying stuff on because it wasted time and he couldn't tell if it looked good on him anyway. He also always glared away all the sales associates who wanted to help him, because he didn't trust the way they tried to sell him shit. So he just grabbed anything in the store most of the time and bought it. Perhaps the same thing happened with the Armani suit. Honestly, it looked fine when Sasuke looked at it. He didn't think it would be so big! It did feel more.. comfortable and breezy... than usual when he put it on, but he thought that was because he bought a nice suit!

Naruto's voice broke Sasuke out of his thoughts.

"Heh, though you do look like you need some help. Honestly, what possessed you into buying _that_?" Naruto chirped, pointing an accusing finger at Sasuke's now infamous suit.

Sasuke removed his arm from Naruto's grip and glared. "Stop rambling and get this over and done with."

Naruto's grin didn't falter at the tone of Sasuke's words or the harshness of his glare - guess he had to admit that Naruto was somewhat professional.

"Yes sir!" Naruto mock-saluted.

The blond asked Sasuke to hold on a second and take a seat on one of the plush couches at the store near the fitting rooms. Meanwhile, Naruto went off to help Sasuke choose some clothes.

The Uchiha thought about leaving, but he grudgingly admitted to himself that Itachi was right. He needed help with his clothes, and fast. How was someone who didn't even know what to wear themselves going to decide that for others? Marketing was the same thing. If Sasuke was going to worry about how to convey the company's image towards the audience, then he had to learn what looked nice and what didn't.

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><p>End of Chapter 1<p>

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><p><strong>First of all, PLEASE REVIEW! :) I really appreciate any kind of feedback. I know it's annoying when authors ask for revuews but these stories take time to write, and reviews make us write faster because it's a really good motivation to know that people are genuinely reading the story. I want to know if you are enjoying the story, and if you are not, then tell me what I can do to improve it! It's a win-win situation since that will make the story better AND make me update faster!<br>**

***Naruto will take over 6 years to graduate because he is a part-time college student, but I'm putting this number out there as an estimate because I'm also assuming that Naruto transferred credits from High School (AP or IB, etc) and he took as big as a course load as he possibly could with his job paying for his bills and tuition. He also has student loans.**

**Naruto lives independently as you can tell - because he's quite an individual and wishes to provide for himself after graduating high school. He's a man of his word so he'll do anything to make sure he sticks to what he says. His parents are still alive in this story and they are a nice upper middle class family, i.e. Naruto is quite well-off but he's not cocky. But we'll see about Naruto's family background and what Minato and Kushina do in the future, hopefully.**

**This story is based in Konoha, which is what I suppose you could call the Naruto-fanfiction-verse version of New York City, as a kind of fashion capital... It's like how I named Uchiha Group after... Gucci Group and LVMH Group, hahaha.**

**And please keep in mind that while I sort of work in the fashion industry, I am in no way a fashion expert or an insider!**

**See you all later!**


	2. Sasuke's New Problem

**Beta'd Ver. updated: 7/25  
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**Hello everyone! As I promised myself (and now I promise you), I will be updating this fanfic once a week! The time for the update is Monday (as of mid-July this has changed to Wednesday) each week. I'm in Asia so my timezone is like 12 hours ahead of Eastern Time.  
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**Anyway, I hope you will enjoy this chapter. Thank you for all the kind reviews for the last chapter - I really appreciate it. Thanks to the reviewer who pointed out that I accidentally switched POVs at the end of the chapter. I've edited the first chapter a lot ever since I first posted it up, so if you'd like to read a cleaner, better version of the first chapter before this one, then by all means! **

**I've also gotten myself a beta - however she's been busy this week so this chapter is still unbeta'd, unfortunately. I'm not *that* bad at catching simple mistakes though... and I don't think I make too many... ? I hope. So it's not so bad.**

**On a side note - this is a small trivia: I actually sort of work at Polo Ralph Lauren now! How ironic is that - for me to have chosen Polo Ralph Lauren when I wrote the first chapter, and to now actually be sorted to the Polo Ralph Lauren section of the menswear department in a department store. So yes, I stand at the Ralph Lauren and Paul Smith section of the department store I work at.  
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**I won't keep you here anymore. Hope you like this chapter!**

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><p>"Seriously? You can't tell at all which one looks better on you?" said a well-dressed blond, the current assistant store manager of the flagship store of Polo Ralph Lauren in Konoha and Sasuke's newly appointed personal stylist.<p>

"For the last time, you stupid dobe, no I can't tell at all! This is why I hate trying things on."

Sasuke glared at his own reflection in the full length mirror of the fitting room area of the store. He was currently wearing a suit from the newest Black Label collection. This was the 5th suit he'd tried on ever since he'd arrived at the store, and honestly, he couldn't tell the difference between them.

"I'm not a dobe, you teme, and I think all of the suits you've tried on so far look great on you. All you need to do is pick a few favorites and we're good to go for today!"

"Then I'll just have... all five..." Sasuke said, not wanting to think about this anymore.

"What - look, I know it's weird and I'm very happy to sell you 5 suits, but as a friend of your older brother's, who is a long time customer of this store, I really want to help you. And I don't think you need all 5 suits."

Sasuke turned to glare at Naruto, who, after 3 hours of working futilely with Sasuke, didn't even flinch _inwardly_ under the raven man's gaze. Although Sasuke was unhappy that Naruto just shot down the first decision he had made since he got to the store - that was, to buy all 5 suits, he also couldn't suppress a feeling that... Naruto was different. He would get a really high commission for selling Sasuke 5 suits in one purchase, but he rather than convincing Sasuke that it was the right decision, he told him the opposite.

Naruto sighed. "Fine, I'll help you choose. But you really need to learn what looks good on yourself and what doesn't. I can't help you pick out clothes for the rest of your life. And besides, don't you need to learn this for your job?"

It was true. Sasuke needed to grasp a basic sense of aesthetics - something he didn't have at all. Although he was blessed with natural good looks and didn't need to try very much to look at least decent, his... not lack of trying, but rather, total lack of fashion sense, or any aesthetic sense, was mind-blowing.

"Hn." Maybe he'd ask what Naruto's intentions were later - surely any shop staff would want the extra cash from the commission?

Soon, Naruto returned from the stock room with new versions of the 3 suits he picked out for Sasuke. They were all black.

"Here, I picked out the 3 black ones you tried on because I think this color looks the best on you."

Sasuke didn't respond as Naruto motioned for him to follow. They moved to the cashier and Naruto began scanning the product bar codes. The price displayed on the screen.

It cost a little more than what Sasuke expected, so it was probably a good idea to pick 3 instead of 5. Sasuke grudgingly admitted to himself that Naruto was probably right... again.

Taking out his wallet and handing Naruto his credit card, Sasuke looked around and realized that the entire store was now empty and most of the lights were out. When did the store close? It really had been over 3 hours since he'd gotten here with Itachi, hadn't it? Just as Sasuke thought, trying clothes on was really a big waste of time.

While Naruto was putting the suits into a bag, he eyed Sasuke. Honestly, he wasn't a bad looking guy. With a bit of work he'd probably be a heart breaker. But he seemed very closed off and very broody... that didn't make him a bad guy however, and Naruto wouldn't mind making a new friend.

"Look, Sasuke," Naruto began, "Itachi left me a message while you were trying the suits on and said that we could go buy you new stuff from wherever as long as it's a store under the Uchiha Group."

"Hn," was Sasuke's response. It was just like his older brother to make sure that they gave their rivals no benefits.

"So, I was thinking... since I'm going to be your personal stylist for a while until when we kind of fix you up, and hopefully until when you sort of acquire a sense in what looks good and what doesn't, I think we should meet a couple times a week." Naruto paused to gauge Sasuke's reaction, but when he received nothing but the usual blank stare, he decided to continue. "So the next time we meet is tomorrow night. We'll work on your shoes then. After that we'll go on to your hair and other things that would be helpful to you."

Sasuke frowned slightly but surrendered and only nodded in response. "What time do you want me to come in?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Well... I'm actually still in college, but as a part-time student while I work here part-time as well, so I'm usually here in the evenings and busy at school in the mornings and afternoons. But tomorrow is my day off of work, so I can meet you after class. Lets meet outside this store at 4, ok?"

"You're a _student_?" Sasuke said with a snort, trying to keep his arrogance and superiority complex to a minimum.

He couldn't believe Itachi assigned a student to be his stylist - couldn't he get someone more professional and, maybe someone that had more time? But then Naruto was a trusted member of Itachi's staff, and since Itachi trusted him perhaps there really was something about him. But nevertheless, Naruto's 'something' was also the same 'something' that made Sasuke desperately want to call him names. Maybe he was acting immature, but there was something about Naruto that was so confident and so... shiny, that Sasuke couldn't help but make fun of him and put him down. That 'something' that deeply annoyed him, but he had no idea why.

"Yes I am," Naruto replied, doing his best to bite back the snarky comments he desperately wanted to hurl at the raven. He seriously was such a bastard... No one looks down on Uzumaki Naruto! But Naruto was a professional, so he'll be the mature one here.

"Then I really wonder why Itachi couldn't have found someone better for the job; someone who isn't struggling to graduate college. Is he paying you?" Sasuke said with a smirk.

Naruto's eyes flashed red and his face began to heat up in a sudden burst of anger.

"You BASTARD! Who do you think you are? I deserve to be where I am fair and square, and to have Itachi assign me as your personal stylist shows his trust in me, for which I am honored! I'm not like you - I'm paying for all my college tuition by myself and I'm pulling through spectacularly. You're just some rich kid who only got the job because you're an Uchiha. And on top of all that, you have NO sense in clothes and aesthetics whatsoever. You have no right to speak to me like that! To answer your question, yes I am getting paid. But that is of no concern to you!" Naruto growled out. His patience had completely vanished by this point. "Look, do you still need my help or not? If so then turn up tomorrow."

With a last icy blue glare, Naruto flung the shopping bag at Sasuke. Man, the blond dobe sure was _loud_.

"Leave," Naruto bit out angrily.

Sasuke huffed. He couldn't believe the blond assistant store manager and stylist just spoke to him like that. He was technically Naruto's senior in the company, right? Position-wise anyway. AND he was a customer! Yet, there was nothing he could say. He'd just have to talk to Itachi about this tomorrow.

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><p>"Are you trying to say that I am not capable of handling this job?" Sasuke snapped.<p>

"Little brother, I have never implied anything of the sort. You're an Uchiha and I think you are fully capable of this job. My only concern is that in the long run, your lack of an eye for beauty, shape, form, and all other aesthetics-related matters will become a hindrance for you and for the company's much needed innovation and creativity. We need fresh ideas and a good vision for the company's future brand image, not a robot good at what he does."

Sasuke's 'chat' with Itachi for the past ten minutes had honestly gotten him nowhere. He'd been trying to convince Itachi that he didn't need a stylist - especially not one that's a blond dobe like Naruto. In fact, he didn't need to improve his fashion sense and wardrobe at all for the job. That shouldn't be necessary, right? It's not all about the packaging... right?

As if he was able to read Sasuke's mind, Itachi immediately answered Sasuke's questions.

"Sasuke, I know you're an expert in this field of the business and honestly, from all the years of experience you've had, you should know by now that it's _all_ about the packaging. There has to be something inside, but that's not significant. It's about what we promise our consumers our products will be. Perception is a product of the mind, not something physical."

Sasuke looked away. "I know that," he said quietly.

Itachi smirked at the answer. "Well, run along now. I'm sure you'll get the hang of all this someday. I'm a busy man. If you have any questions... you can ask Naruto." With another condescending smirk so characteristic of Itachi, he ushered his little brother out of his office.

Sitting back down on his expensive executive's chair, Itachi sighed. His brother really had a long way to go. The promises the company's products make to the customers may not always be genuine, but what the company instills in their hearts is something real. It's not the way that suit looks on someone - whether if it's made from the best material or by the best people. It's the way it makes a man feel when he puts it on and walks out there. It's that confidence and pride that a person can borrow from a simple piece of jewelry. That's what's real. _It's not a problem with your appearance, foolish little brother, but rather, the problem with your uncaring attitude. In this business you deal with people, and to really touch their hearts with our products, you have to know your own._

_And you don't even know what you like to wear and what you don't - much less how the products make you feel. Without that knowledge about yourself, you can't even start knowing the first thing about other people._

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><p>To say that Naruto was looking forward to spending the evening with Sasuke sorting out his choice of footwear, would be a complete lie. It was true that Naruto would have looked forward to it if Sasuke hadn't been such a total ass with his poor word choice the night before. After all, he seemed like a decent guy behind all the arrogance and glaring... (Naruto truly was a very accepting person). Plus, Sasuke wasn't bad looking for a guy who dressed so terribly, so Naruto was really excited about seeing what Sasuke would look like after his great makeover - under the magical powers of Uzumaki Naruto, of course.<p>

Despite being none-too-excited about the evening's plans, Naruto was very happy about his new, extra part-time job as kind of a freelance stylist. He'd actually never done anything like that before but he was very happy that Itachi was paying him for his services. And for that, he was going to do his best and put up with Itachi's little brother's attitude problem.

Naruto waved absent-mindedly at a few girls passing by. _Must be girls from college_, Naruto thought. He was a little famous at school because, well, to put it lightly, Naruto was quite good-looking beyond being generally very well-dressed. He was lean, tan, and possessed the brightest blond hair that shone beautifully under the sun. He had the clearest, bluest eyes that were like the beautiful tropical oceans on a bright sunny day. And while being blessed with all these beautiful physical features, Naruto was also kind, smart, and hardworking. Maybe he was a little loud at times, and when around people he's familiar with, he could get real damn annoying, but you could say that's a part of his charm. And speaking of charm... Naruto was indeed very charming.

Sighing, said charmer looked at his watch. There was still 5 minutes til' 4. Naruto arrived 15 minutes prior to the meeting time because he got out of class early. But it wasn't to anyone's surprise to see Uchiha Sasuke trudging in Naruto's direction right after he checked his watch. After all, as much as Sasuke was imperfect in terms of his external packaging, he'd like to think he was perfect in every other way.

Smiling a little upon seeing Sasuke wearing one of the suits he picked out for him yesterday, Naruto waved and made his way towards Sasuke to meet him halfway. Sasuke wasn't a bad looking guy - okay, he was actually way above average in the looks department, and with a suit that actually fit him, he looked - dare Naruto think - _good_.

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><p><em>Wow... he looks good<em>, Sasuke thought to himself as he approached the blond. But he is thinking that in a completely platonic way, of course.

With all his knowledge of fashion, Sasuke was actually able to pinpoint exactly where each piece Naruto was wearing came from. He was precise, possessed a vast amount of knowledge on each season's pieces from many famous designers, and could predict exactly what was to come in the next season. Sasuke was like a fashion machine... except completely lacking on the fashion part, personally. He knew every single piece from every collection, ever, but had absolutely no idea how each piece could go together to make an outfit.

"Hey, bastard," Naruto said, glancing at Sasuke's tie that fell way past the point where his tucked in shirt and his pants met. He was still wearing the same unpolished leather shoes.

"Hn," was once again Sasuke's response.

"Geez, could you come up with a more creative response? Maybe try some variety, like using 'uhhuh' instead of 'hn' once in a while." Naruto said. Sasuke ignored him. Miffed, Naruto decided to change the subject, "Anyway, we're gonna work on your shoes today, but before that..."

Naruto crept closer to Sasuke, leaning in, his hands reaching forward. Sasuke unconsciously backed away when he sensed that the blond was getting too close, unsure of how to react to warm breath fanning over his face. Naruto took a firm grip on Sasuke's tie and began fixing it. The raven flinched upon the contact but settled down when he realized what Naruto was doing. Sasuke didn't know what he expected, but he couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed.

"Don't you know how to tie a tie?" Naruto said with a husky voice, quietly because he was basically right in front of Sasuke. Once Naruto was finished, he patted his palm on the knot of the tie twice, signaling a mission accomplished. With a satisfied grin, the blond stepped away from the raven, and Sasuke let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

After regaining his bearings, Sasuke finally mustered a reply. "Idiot... I was in a hurry this morning and did it really quickly - besides, I didn't see anything wrong with it."

Naruto's laugh was the sound of hot chocolate in a crystal glass. It was clear as the day, deep as the sky, and warm as the sun. And it was sweet, like hot chocolate. Sasuke normally hated sweet things, but he would gladly drink that hot chocolate if it were from that crystal glass.

"You're so hopeless," Naruto said, flashing Sasuke a 100 megawatt smile. Sasuke hated this smile - it made his stomach do weird flips. "Come on, lets go get you some shoes!"

Deciding to stop thinking about why Naruto did this to him, Sasuke gave the blond an unhappy grunt. He then proceeded to follow Naruto as he dragged him to another evening on fun-filled shopping. Oh, the joy.

* * *

><p>A few hours later, the two men stopped their quest of renewing Sasuke's shoe wardrobe. Exhausted, both men carried a shopping bag in each hand containing new shoes for Sasuke.<p>

"I can't believe you seriously have NO idea what to pick!" Naruto exclaimed, still shocked at the way Sasuke could know so much about fashion but at the same time nothing at all.

"Hn, dobe. I have much better things to think about."

"But you know I already picked out some good styles for you - all you needed to do was choose one! You can't avoid making decisions forever," Naruto replied exasperatedly.

"Don't mock me," Sasuke bit out. Naruto knew he must have been seeing things but he swore he saw Sasuke pout.

There was a silence between them as they walked along the busy streets of downtown Konoha at night. However, a sudden sound disturbed the unsettling peace between the two men.

"... Ehehe, sorry, that was my stomach..." Naruto said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head out of habit. "Look, lets go get something to eat..."

Sasuke smirked. "So you'd like to have dinner with me," teased the cocky raven.

"As professionals! As consultant and client," Naruto pointed out quickly.

"You are hardly anyone's consultant, much less mine," Sasuke responded.

"HEY, I am your personal stylist, or style consultant - therefore I AM your consultant, you prick! And you are my client!"

"Hn, whatever you say, dobe."

Naruto fumed and the raven only continued to smirk. As much as the blond was capable, he was also extremely easily riled up, and loud, which made everything all the more enjoyable for Sasuke. To add to all that, the Uchiha had also lost enough pride in these past couple of days that by now, he was using anything to regain it, even if it means staring down at the blond dobe who was an inch or two shorter than him. Neither of them were by any means short, but anyone could tell Sasuke was getting kind of desperate to regain any last strand of his manly pride. If that means thinking that he was taller than Naruto, so be it.

"Wipe that smirk off your face, teme!" Naruto said, a little too loud for Sasuke's liking. "Do you want to eat or not?"

Smirk still on his face, Sasuke nodded and followed after Naruto, not gratifying Naruto with any further verbal response.

Boys will be boys, and men... will still be boys.

* * *

><p>In all 23 years of Sasuke's life, he had never come across anything remotely similar to the situation he was in now.<p>

He currently had his arm around the blond idiot's shoulder, trying his hardest not to drop the guy. Said blond idiot was barely walking (actually he might as well have been passed out), his arm around Sasuke's shoulder as they crossed the street.

What the fuck! Why was he such a light weight!

Sasuke had driven the blond home in his car, all the while hoping that he wouldn't throw up on his soft leather seats. Currently, Naruto's head was drooping forwards and backwards and all over the place while they walked through the lobby of Naruto's apartment building. Suddenly, Sasuke felt a fluffy warmth on his shoulder and turned to see that the blond had finally decided on a direction for his head to fall towards. Little blond hairs tickled Sasuke's neck and warm breath caressed the side of Sasuke's collar bone. Sasuke shivered slightly from their approximity, and it was definitely not because he was cold!

The two inches that Sasuke had on Naruto made them fit perfectly beside each other, Naruto's head on Sasuke's shoulder. For some reason, the feeling of Naruto's bright blond hair tickling his neck and the warmth of his head on his shoulder made Sasuke smile. This position - it felt normal, like they'd be doing this for a long time. It was a foreign feeling and Sasuke didn't know what to make of it, but it felt nice, and the raven was willing to leave it at that for now.

Cursing, Sasuke fumbled around trying to figure out where Naruto put his keys. Trying not to think too much about it, he put his hands in both Naruto's pant pockets and managed to fish out a bundle of keys tied together by a predictably stupid-looking frog keychain.

Sighing in relief, he opened the door to Naruto's apartment and dropped the man on the couch. It was an apartment of modest size - of course, Naruto was a self supporting college student. Although Sasuke had expected the blond's place to be messy, he was surprised by how clean and organized everything was. Yet, that didn't make up for the fact that this idiot couldn't control his own drinking!

They had settled down in a small ramen restaurant called "Ichiraku" that Naruto proclaimed to be the best restaurant in the world, serving the best food in the world. The guy was a ramen freak - seriously. Sasuke had never seen anyone gobble down so many bowls of ramen in one sitting. The time Sasuke took to eat one bowl - Naruto took to eat five. It was a real miracle that he managed to maintain that lean body (that Sasuke thought was quite attracti- oh wait no backtrack, backtrack).

After the ramen, Naruto still hadn't had enough. Soon, he began ordering sake from the restaurant as well. The rest was history. He didn't even drink that much, so Sasuke didn't think anything was wrong, until the idiot's head actually made contact with the bar table very loudly, generating an alarming 'thump' sound that alerted all the other customers in the restaurant.

Which brought us back to Sasuke's current predicament as he stared - no, he glared - at the blond that was sleeping like a log on the couch. Sasuke sighed. He might as well bring him to the bed, since he had gotten this far anyway. Lifting the blond up again, Sasuke walked a few strides into the hallway which he assumed led to the bedroom. And as he expected, the opened door at the end of the hallway contained a bed. Sasuke flicked the light switch beside the door and the room lit up. He dropped Naruto onto the bed.

There was a moment of silence as Sasuke contemplated what to do next. Subconsciously he began staring at the blond who was completely out, lying on top of his bed covers. Naruto's blond hair was mussed up, framing the side of his face and giving the him an innocent, childish look. He had long and light eyelashes that were beautiful whether or not his eyes were opened. Of course, Naruto's blue eyes weren't visible right now, but they were arguably his best feature. The sparkling azure orbs were breath-taking regardless of the time of the day. Finally, Sasuke's dark eyes traced Naruto's face down to his pink lips - they were slightly parted and moist. For some reason, it made Sasuke want to...

The raven caught himself when he was inches away from Naruto's sleeping face, his arms planted on either side of Naruto head, and his legs getting ready to climb onto the bed and on top of Naruto. Sasuke felt his heart skip a beat; could feel Naruto gently breathing in and out through his nose, and he could see each individual lash on Naruto's eyelids. What the fuck did he think he was doing? Catching himself by surprise and shocked by his own actions, he quickly jumped off Naruto and sighed at himself. Why did Naruto do that to him? Whether the idiot was awake or asleep, he was always annoying Sasuke in one way or another, affecting him in ways that he had never been affected before. God, Naruto was really irritating.

Pausing, Sasuke glanced around the room briefly, noticing that everything there was just as tidy as things were in the living room. His eyes stopped at a huge hanging calendar on the wall. It was the classic monthly kind with big boxes for each day. Naruto seemed to have scribbled down a lot of events onto the boxes. Eyes searching and unable to hold back his own curiosity, Sasuke looked for the current day to see what Naruto had been doing or was going to do. In the box that marked the 23rd of the month, that was, tomorrow, were words written in a thick red sharpie that nobody could possibly miss.

"CALCULUS ASSIGNMENT DUE TODAY! MUST COMPLETE AFTER MEETING WITH THE TEME. Reminder: In second desk drawer."

You could probably say that Sasuke regretted snooping on the dobe's calendar, because after reading the note there, he went to the blond's desk drawer to check out the aforementioned calculus homework. And just as expected, it was... blank.

"Tch, stupid blond," Sasuke managed to utter before settling down and taking a random pencil on the desk. He was out of here as soon as he finished this.

* * *

><p><strong>End of Chapter 2<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for coming this far with me! I hope you enjoyed the second chapter. Did you like the moments I put between Sasuke and Naruto? <strong>

**Also I plan to bring out some other characters soon. The inclusion of Sakura is already in the works - what other characters would you like to see? They will be in the form of co-workers of sorts for the plot of the next couple of chapters. It'll be lots of fun and an awesome ride, I swear. You better look forward to it! **

**Finally, please review! Thanks to the 8 people who reviewed the last chapter. This chapter wouldn't be out right now if it weren't for you, and I wouldn't have stuck to my weekly update schedule! So please tell me what you think of this chapter. I will write out chapter 3 very fast. **

**Coming up next week: Sasuke, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke's HAIR. :) And a trip to where the sun shines and the sea glimmers as it caresses the the white sand of a beach? Sounds like fun!**


	3. Naruto's Dilemma

**Hello! Here's the Monday update like I promised. :) Thank you so much for all the kind reviews for last week's chapter - I'm so happy you guys are enjoying this story! There is so much more to come. **

**Please enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

><p>Sunlight shone through a crack between the curtains. A quiet groan echoed throughout Naruto's apartment, but was followed by a loud wail and a bang as the blond fell off his bed with a yelp, landing on his butt.<p>

"Ow!" the blond screeched, before clutching his head as though someone just hit it with a steel hammer.

"OUCH! Ow ow ow, what the fuck is this!" yelled Naruto before last nights events began returning to him. Right, so he was eating ramen, and then he drank a little... and then - oh SHIT. He was supposed to come home to do his calculus assignment!

Glancing at the clock on his nightstand, his eyes widened as he realized that not only was he going to turn up to class without his assignment, but he was going to be LATE if he didn't get ready right now! As though the floor was on fire, Naruto stood up at the speed of light and rummaged through his second desk drawer to locate his calculus homework.

It's not here! He knew for sure he put it in the second desk drawer.

Just then, a piece of paper on his desk caught his eye. It was out of place and he knew he never left anything in the middle of his desk. What Naruto saw surprised him. It was his calculus homework, completed, with a note addressed to him laying on top of it.

Picking up the homework and the note at the same time, Naruto couldn't help but smile as he began to read the note while he placed the homework in his bag to take to class with him.

_Dobe, _

_This wouldn't have happened if you controlled your drinking. Do your homework earlier next time. I'm sure my work is flawless so there's no need to check over it before handing it in. Remember, this doesn't mean I acknowledge you. Although your suit selections yesterday were juvenile, they were acceptable. _

_Sasuke_

_403-201-3322 - you forgot to collect your client's contact information. And you call yourself a professional consultant? _

The blond felt the corners of his lips twitch as he suppressed an urge to laugh. He was stuck between wanting to feel angry at the Uchiha for mocking his work ethic, for being so typically arrogant; and blushing as his heart beat faster at the thought of the raven's kindness. Juvenile but acceptable... that was probably the closest one could get to a compliment from Sasuke.

Saving the number into his phone contact list, Naruto packed his bag and got ready for the day.

* * *

><p>"Hey, Sakura!" Naruto greeted as he took a seat beside his pink-haired friend and classmate. They had calculus class together. The two had known each other since high school and were pretty much best friends.<p>

Sakura looked up from her phone and smiled as her favorite blond friend approached. "Naruto," she said. "How did it all go?"

Naruto didn't need Sakura to elaborate to understand what she was referring to. Duh, he was just complaining about Sasuke to her the last time he chatted with her.

"Good, actually," Naruto said and grinned. He took out his calculus assignment, completed neatly. Sakura smiled as she glanced at the homework - at first it didn't look like anything was off about it, but as she began staring, a strange feeling tugged at the recesses of her mind.

"Naruto..." Sakura began. Naruto stared at her best friend warily. "You didn't do this homework, did you?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head sheepishly, "Ehehe, I guess you caught me!"

"Tell me," the pink-haired girl demanded, her eyes narrowing. She could be scary when she wanted to be.

"Okay! Okay!" Naruto replied, holding his arms up and surrendering. "So I told you I was going to do this assignment when I got home after spending the evening picking out shoes for the bastard, but we went to get something to eat afterwards and I kind of, er... forgot that I shouldn't have more than 3 orders of sake in one go at Ichiraku's..."

Naruto trailed off and searched his best friend's face for any sign of anger and impending violence and doom. When all he saw in Sakura's face was a look of sympathy, he sighed and began to think that he preferred the impending doom.

"Naruto... you shouldn't push yourself so hard," Sakura said ambiguously.

Running his hands through his hair, Naruto turned away from Sakura and placed one side of his face on the palm of his hand. Looking at Sakura from the corner of his eye, Naruto bit his lip at the way his friend was staring at him as though he wasn't going to survive the day.

"Look, Sakura, I can handle this. Don't worry about me, okay?" Naruto reassured her. "I promised you I'll find a way to graduate by next year _and_ remain financially independent with my current job."

"Stop making all these promises, Naruto! I don't need them and neither do you-"

Sakura was cut off by the TA who set his books on the desk and cleared his throat to get the class' attention.

Naruto only smiled at Sakura. "I never go back on my word," he whispered. Everyone else in the room was quiet so the two students had no choice but to continue their conversation later.

Sakura frowned and decided not to pursue the topic any further at the present. She returned her attention to the TA who began writing on the board.

_That idiot, always working far too hard_, she thought to herself.

* * *

><p>Calculus ended and Naruto and Sakura exited the lecture room together in silence. Sakura was still thinking about their conversation before class began, but Naruto was already on a different train of thought altogether.<p>

"Say, Sakura," Naruto said while walking, his eyes looking upwards in contemplation. "Do you have time tomorrow evening?"

Sakura blinked and looked at her friend. "Yes, why?"

"Well, you know how I told you about Itachi's little brother?"

"Yes, he's your new client right, Mr I'm-so-cool-I'm-a-Fashion-Consultant?"

Naruto laughed. "More like a personal stylist, really. But I don't mind you calling me that!"

Sakura giggled a little as well. "So what do you want tomorrow evening?"

"Ah," Naruto made a sound as he tried to remember what he was going to say. "Oh yes, so I've worked on his office attire and his shoes already. I was thinking of doing his hair next and was wondering if you could help me out with that?"

"Hmm," Sakura pursed her lips in thought. "I guess that's okay. It's Friday night after all. How do you want to go about doing this? And did you forget that I wasn't a professional hair stylist? I'm a med student, Naruto."

"Of course I remember!" Naruto said. "But I also happen to know that you style yours truly's awesome amazing hair - I know I can't go wrong with your help!"

Sakura laughed at this. "Stop flattering me on purpose to get me to help you, you idiot."

"But I know you lurrrve me!" Naruto chirped. "Okay, anyway, so I wanted to get his hair done at my house. Think that'll be okay for you? I'll take care of everything on the prick's side."

"Sure, Naruto, and I'm sure he's not as big of a prick as you make him out to be. If I didn't know you any better I would think that you have a crush on him from the way you talk overly spitefully about him," Sakura teased. She actually kind of had a hunch that she was right. Call it her intuition, but she might even consider betting on it.

"Sakuraaaaa," Naruto whined, "You know it's not like that."

"We'll see, Naruto, we'll see," she smiled secretively. She actually couldn't wait to meet the infamous Uchiha Sasuke, the younger one of the Uchiha brothers. Uchiha Itachi was a stylish, handsome, and graceful man. To think that his little brother had trouble putting together a decent outfit was laughable to say the least.

* * *

><p>Sasuke couldn't help but let his mind wander back to the note he had left on top of the blond's assignment. It was already nearing the time he got off work at the office, but he still hadn't received a call from Naruto regarding their next meeting. He was currently dressed in another one of the suits that Naruto picked for him and a pair of shiny black leather dress shoes. Even he must admit that he looked a little more impeccable than usual - that was to say he wasn't that bad before... he hoped. He also noticed more people - particularly from the female population in the office - staring at him today. By lunch, he had received more than 10 'accidental' calls from women in the office, who all managed to let slip an invitation to grab lunch together. Of course, being the serious working man he was, Sasuke declined them all and settled down with his own sandwich he brought for lunch.<p>

By the time Sasuke got home, he was positive that he was going crazy - he just couldn't handle not knowing when his next meeting with Naruto was going to be! He was normally the kind of person that liked to know these things in advance, so it was really majorly bugging him to be left hanging the way he was. He didn't have Naruto's number so he couldn't call and sort it all out himself. For his job, this part of his personality was helpful because it meant he got shit done, but now it was just annoying him.

For the next couple of hours, Sasuke made himself dinner and walked around his apartment restlessly waiting for a call that never came. Fed up and not too sure why he was so bothered by all this, he snatched his keys and made sure his wallet and phone were in his pockets. If he made his way there by car now, he would get there just in time for the store closing.

* * *

><p>Closing the store's glass doors and locking up, Naruto was about to take out his phone and make a call to his 'client' when he spotted a black car parked right outside the store. The window of the driver's seat came down to reveal the blank face of the person Naruto was about to call.<p>

"Sasuke, what are you doing here?" he asked, surprised.

Before Sasuke could respond, Naruto suddenly remembered something he wanted to say. "Oh yes! Thank you for, you know, doing my calculus assignment for me," he said as he rubbed the side of his face in mild embarrassment. "I'm sorry you had to see me like that."

"Hn," Sasuke replied. There was an awkward silence between the two while both of them pondered about their next meeting, among other things.

"So..." Naruto began, "Um, I know this is like asking a bit much but treat it as like a tip for my services, okay? Could you give me a ride?"

Sasuke stared in wonder at the blond. He was wearing an emerald green plaid t-shirt and a pair of neatly cropped khakis that clung to his legs. He was also carrying a small orange backpack. Even though Sasuke couldn't usually tell, he had to admit that Naruto looked pretty cute.

"Hn," Sasuke replied, nodding along with his nonchalant grunt. Naruto smiled and slid into the front seat beside Sasuke.

"You know, it's kinda fishy for you to be waiting in your car outside the store, but since I got a ride I won't complain. So... you remember where I live, right?" Naruto said.

Sasuke didn't respond but Naruto took the lowering of the raven's dark eyelashes as a 'yes'.

There was another awkward silence.

"So bastard-"

"Hey idiot-"

The two paused to glance at each other as if calculating if they should continue with what they were saying.

"You go first," said Naruto.

"Hn." Sasuke responded, taking up the offer. "I was just wondering when we were going to meet next," Sasuke mumbled quietly, eyes on the road.

There was another silence before Naruto suddenly burst out laughing. Sasuke glared at Naruto from the corner of his eye.

"Is that it?" Naruto said, his eyes glittering with mirth. "Is that why I'm now getting a ride home?"

Sasuke gritted his teeth and didn't give Naruto a verbal response. The idiot was annoying as hell and Sasuke desperately wanted himself to believe that his laugh was grating, but it wasn't. To Sasuke, it was beautiful, like music from heaven, but no one was going to get a hold of that knowledge and wake up the next morning.

Naruto calmed down and with a final snort, he was silent again.

"Well, considering that I was about to call you when I spotted you, and that I was going to tell you our next meeting time when I was about to talk to you! Geez, you sure are an impatient prick, aren't you?" Naruto said, a smile on his lips. He felt unexpectedly happy (and smug) that the bastard cared about all this.

"We're here," Sasuke announced, cutting their conversation short, right before Naruto could go on to explain what was going to happen in their next meeting.

Unfastening his seat belt, Naruto remained in his seat. "Okay, the next meeting is tomorrow evening, okay? You don't need to go to the store, just meet me at my house, here. We're going to work on your hair, and I've asked the best person possible to help me with that job." Naruto beamed. "Look forward to it!"

And with that, the blond stepped out of the car. Before closing the door, Naruto poked his head back into the car and winked. "By the way, loving the emo bunny on your t-shirt."

Giving Sasuke one last wave, Naruto closed the car door and made his way to the apartment building. Sasuke glared at the shadow of the blond's retreating back.

Sasuke didn't even know what shirt he was wearing. Glancing down, he cursed. Stupid Itachi and his birthday presents.

* * *

><p>With the knowledge that Sasuke's everyday wardrobe needed help as well, Naruto was well-prepared for their meeting in the evening. He had gone shopping for the bastard between classes and had of course returned with plenty of good results. Sakura was already sitting at his bar pouring herself some sparkling juice. Her hair styling tools sat beside her cup on the bar.<p>

"So, Naruto," Sakura began, taking a sip from her glass of sparkling juice. "You've told me a lot about what you and Sasuke did together and how he did your homework, but tell me, what do you really think of him?"

Naruto looked up from his position on the couch and his head tilted in thought. "I don't know. He's a bit of a prick at times but I guess he's a nice guy after all." As if he suddenly remembered something, Naruto sat up and chuckled to himself. "But you should have seen him when he first walked into the store with Itachi the other day. I thought he was a lost cause!"

Sakura smirked knowingly. "So then, is he utterly gorgeous like his older brother?"

"Hmmm," Naruto leaned back on the couch, biting his lip and narrowing his eyes as though deeply considering his answer to Sakura's question. Sakura smirked as she saw Naruto fight back a blush on his face. Oh he was so busted. "I don't know," he replied as flippantly as he could. "Maybe. But if he's not, you can fix that tonight, right?"

"All right Naruto, it's a deal. I'll make him look more gorgeous than he already is, and if I do, you have let him know how he looks by whispering in his ear! No lying - because I'll definitely know if you are."

Naruto gulped and nodded in agreement, not doubting for a second that Sakura would succeed no matter what. He also knew that she was planning something, but he hadn't the slightest clue what it was. Well, he just had to compliment the bastard, no big deal.

Just then, the door bell rang. Naruto went to fetch the door.

"Hello! Come in, bastard. We've been waiting," Naruto greeted while holding the door open for the raven to enter his apartment. Inside, Sakura, still sitting at the bar, waved at the newcomer before introducing herself.

"Hi, I'm Sakura, Naruto's friend and classmate in college," she said with an easy-going smile. Sasuke nodded.

"Uchiha Sasuke," he replied.

"Sakura will be the one fixing up your hair tonight," Naruto said while pouring more sparkling juice into another cup. "Would you like to drink anything?" Naruto asked, being the gracious host he was.

"Tea," Sasuke replied. Naruto rolled his eyes. Of course Sasuke the prick would want to drink something like tea.

Ignoring Naruto, Sakura focused on Sasuke. "So, lets get started, shall we?" She began observing the Sasuke's dark hair, picking up a strand experimentally and feeling the texture and thickness.

Sakura hummed in thought and left the living room to go fetch some newspaper and a large hair salon style drape for Sasuke. Meanwhile, Naruto placed a cup of tea in front of Sasuke on the bar and sat down beside him.

"So how's work?" Naruto asked casually. Sasuke shrugged and sipped his tea.

"Good."

"Gah, you're really talkative, aren't you?" Naruto tried again to strike a conversation but to no avail. The ability of Uchiha Sasuke to hold a conversation with someone was non-existent.

"Hn. Better than spouting random nonsense all the time like you, dobe."

Naruto gritted his teeth. "Teme, I'm trying to be civil here! You are such a prick!" Naruto picked up his glass of sparkling juice and took a big gulp before turning back to the raven. "Fine. I will ignore your attitude. Any interesting projects you're working on?" Naruto asked, trying for the last time.

"There is one," the raven replied, not really intending to elaborate much. He inwardly smirked at the way his short answer obviously riled up the blond.

"Oh?" Naruto said, genuinely curious since Sasuke actually brought something up. "What's it about?"

"It's a new ad campaign for 'UCHIHA.' We'll be doing the photo and video shoots in a few days."

"See? Wasn't so hard, was it?" teased Naruto. Sasuke actually strung 2 sentences together!

The taller man shrugged, preferring to concentrate on sipping his tea. At this moment, Sakura returned from her equipment fetching. She laid the newspaper on the floor and placed one of Naruto's dining table chairs on top. Patting the seat of the chair, Sakura indicated for Sasuke to go sit down. Sasuke quietly did so and Sakura put the drape over him, covering his entire body.

Running her hands through Sasuke's dark hair, Sakura frowned slightly. "You know, you have really nice hair... it's just, when's the last time you got a haircut?"

"I don't remember."

At that response, both Sakura and Naruto couldn't hold back a sigh.

Sakura bent down slightly to eye the length of the hair. "You know, at this length, if you styled it a little, or even just combed it or something, it would look a lot better." She brushed Sasuke's hair from his shoulders and held the ends with her hands. "But! I'm not thinking of leaving your hair the way it is right now. I think you would look drop-dead gorgeous with a slightly shorter style - I'm sure Naruto would agree," Sakura winked at the blond, who grimaced. "So lets begin!"

About 15 minutes into the hair cutting, Naruto decided that he had enough of being in the living room watching Sasuke's hair fall off, so he retreated to his bedroom and closed the door. Sakura just nodded and didn't bother to ask what the blond was up to. Instead, she took this as a fine opportunity to chat with the gorgeous younger brother of the Uchiha family.

"So Sasuke, you're quite the catch, aren't you?" Sakura said, her tone overly calm. "I'm surprised Naruto managed to get a guy like you."

Wait, did this Sakura girl get the wrong memo? Since when was he and Naruto anything more than client and consultant? Or in some distant way, colleagues? But now that Sakura said it, she had implanted the idea in Sasuke's head. It was true that he found the blond gorgeous - the confident way he carried himself, his easy-going personality, his blue, blue eyes, and most of all, his smile. But on top of all that, he was also smarter than Sasuke gave him credit for - of course, there was a reason why Naruto had all the jobs he had. Yet, this was all irrelevant since Sasuke and Naruto weren't together.

"You have the wrong idea. The relationship between Naruto and I is merely a professional one, and we've only known each other for a few days."

Sakura expected this kind of answer. She laughed, ready to drop her next bomb. "Oh, but that sure isn't what Naruto told me!"

Sasuke's eyes widened as he stared at Sakura through the mirror in front of him.

"What did he tell you?" Sasuke said, unable to hold back his own curiosity. Could it be that the dobe... ? Could it?

Sakura smiled secretively, her green eyes twinkling. She continued snipping Sasuke's hair as though they hadn't been having a conversation.

"Sakura... tell me what he said," Sasuke demanded, almost pleadingly. God, he was dying to know.

Sakura paused in her movement for a second and eyed Sasuke through his reflection in the mirror. Suddenly, she burst out laughing.

"Just kidding!" She declared, which cause Sasuke to narrow his eyes and let out a dark aura of death. He was tricked! "But I'm only half kidding," she added. This peaked Sasuke's interest, although he was still pissed. The raven pursed his lips, hating that this pink-haired woman was so easily manipulating him. He urged silently for Sakura to continue.

Sakura smiled. "Well, I haven't seen Naruto talk about a single person with so much passion for ages. It's like whenever he mentions you, his entire face lights up and he starts laughing about how ridiculous your lack of fashion sense is."

Sasuke wasn't sure if he should feel happy or annoyed that laughing at him made the blond happy - at his own pride's expense. He was about to interject with something insulting to Naruto's intelligence when Sakura cut him off.

"But let me finish," she said. "Look, I'm not in any position to intervene, but Naruto likes you. Maybe not romantically, but enough to care about you and for you to influence him. And I want you to help him."

Sasuke didn't say anything - he didn't know how to respond.

"I know it's really weird for me to say this to you," Sakura said, sighing. "But the reason I'm asking a favor of you is because you guys will be seeing each other a lot in the near future and you seem to affect Naruto a lot. Naruto is not how he seems - he may seem cheerful all the time, but he too has troubles, and he likes to work through them on his own. I want you to help him."

"And how do you propose I go about doing that?" Sasuke asked, a piece of hair falling on his nose as he did so. He blew it off and Sakura giggled at the action.

"Well, right now, Naruto is working really hard to graduate by next year all the while independently supporting himself. If there is any way you can help him - and I know you helped him do his math assignment - please do. Even if it's school work, his job, or even just talking to him, you know?"

Sasuke thought about that for a moment, but then something occurred to him. "Why does he have to graduate by next year?"

At that, Sakura shook her head, a small poignant smile on her lips. "All I can tell you is that he's an idiot who dreams big and never gives up. You'll have to ask Naruto about it yourself. I'm sure he'll be willing to tell you if he's comfortable."

* * *

><p>Sasuke felt different. He was staring at his reflection in a full length mirror at the dobe's apartment. His entire look had received a makeover by now. Not only was he wearing a suit and shoes that Naruto had handpicked for him, but his hairstyle had also been - he hated to say this - upgraded to something better. He now had a shorter style that went just past his nose in the front and was spiked up in the back due to its length. He had no idea that the hair behind his head did that sort of thing naturally when it was cut shorter. Needless to day, Sakura was absolutely elated when she found out. She said something about how he didn't even need to style it for it to look styled. Sasuke had no idea what that meant.<p>

The dobe grumbled something about how his hair was similarly awesome and didn't need much styling either. However, his opinion on the matter was deftly ignored by Sakura.

"Great job, Sakura!" Naruto said, grinning as he looked at the beautiful makeover he had provided for Sasuke with Sakura's amazing assistance.

"Yes, Naruto, now remember the deal?" Sakura prodded. Naruto's eyes widened to a comical size - he had completely forgotten.

Sasuke was too busy marveling at his new hairstyle in the mirror to notice the exchange by the two friends behind him. However, he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder. He was about to turn to see what was going on but froze when he felt something fluffy tickle his cheek. From the corner of his eye, he could tell it was blond hair, and that it was Naruto's face right beside his. Sasuke couldn't suppress the shiver running up his spine as he felt warm breath fanning the side of his face and his right ear. He almost moaned as something soft made contact with the shell of his ear and a husky, low voice spoke to him.

"You look so gorgeous, Sasuke," Naruto said, knowing that with every word he pronounced, his lips moved against Sasuke's ear, making the dark-haired man gasp. With that, the deal was over and Naruto began to pull away. But before the blond could even step back from Sasuke, a hand curled around his wrist and pulled, making him fall towards the raven. Naruto steadied himself with his hands on Sasuke's chest. He blushed when he realized that he was sitting on Sasuke's lap and made an attempt to stand up. However, a pair of hands on his shoulders stopped him and Naruto's widened as felt a pair of lips on his own.

The feeling made Naruto's heart race and he felt his eyes flutter close. Their lips moved softly against each other, experimenting with the sensation as sparks flew between them. Naruto moaned softly as Sasuke deepened the kiss, flicking his tongue out to slide along Naruto's bottom lip. Naruto gasped and Sasuke took the opportunity to explore Naruto's mouth. The two were so consumed with each other that when Sasuke's phone began to vibrate in his pocket, both men jumped and their mouths parted. Naruto had felt a vibration between his legs and blushed when he realized that Sasuke's left leg had somehow ended up between his.

Sasuke fished through his pocket to take out his phone. His eyes narrowed when he saw the caller ID.

"What," Sasuke growled, annoyed that his bastard of a brother had interrupted him during an important moment. Naruto slowly slid off of Sasuke's lap and walked towards Sakura, who winked at him and grinned so wide you would think her face was going to break. She mouthed an evident 'I told you so' - but she really didn't have to mouth it, it was written all over her face. Naruto could tell. He pouted, annoyed that Sakura was right, but also extremely confused. Damn, what just happened?

"This is what you get for being such a tease," Sakura whispered as she poked his arm, giggling quietly to herself. Now that Naruto looked at his best friend properly, he saw that there was also a fading blush on her face. Jesus, his best friend was a closet fan girl!

"I didn't tease him... much!" Naruto retorted, not even sounding convincing to himself. He admitted that he was kind of bold and went for something more than what Sakura expected - something much more daring. But he didn't expect it to progress into something else entirely! Maybe he was asking for it... maybe a part of him had wanted that to happen... but damn, that was completely mind-blowing, unexpected, and problematic. Now Naruto didn't know what to do with himself. Sasuke went from pleasant-looking to super hot in a few days: his dark hair and his pale skin more pronounced and beautiful than ever, and his eyes dark like the night sky. Sasuke's fitted suit now complimented his tall, lean, and masculine built, which made Naruto bite his lip from time to time. To say that he wasn't attracted to Sasuke would be lying, but they had really only known each other for a few days!

"Itachi, let me repeat this. You're saying that we're changing the location right now? Last minute? Two days before the actual shoot is supposed to happen?" Sasuke's voice invaded Naruto's train of thought and the blond's ears perked up at the topic of conversation. Sasuke looked irritated - not out of the ordinary.

"Right, so next week, we are going to Suna for this shoot?" Sasuke asked, his voice now serious and his expression a mask of calm - a business poker face.

The pale man nodded one last time before disconnecting the call and turning to look at Naruto. His face was devoid of any emotion and he carried himself as though what they did right before the phone call hadn't happened.

"Naruto, that was a call from Itachi. Our new advertising campaign was scheduled to be shot the day after tomorrow at a studio. However, after Itachi looked over our proposal, he made last minute arrangements for the shoot to be moved to Suna at a beach resort. He requested specifically that you come along to the shoot with us and provide assistance with Art Direction and styling." Sasuke sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. Now he had to redo all the previous arrangements he made with the marketing department for the shoot. He had to drop a message to the logistics department to rearrange the traveling plans for the models and all the equipment. Jesus, Itachi was such a bastard.

"Wait, you guys want me to come too?" Naruto repeated, perplexed. He had no reason to believe that there wasn't anyone better for the job - so why him? He was just a part-time assistant store manager, and he was still a college student. "And what about my classes?"

"Itachi specifically arranged for the shoot to take place next week, during your university's Spring Break. Call it a paid Spring break internship, if you will," Sasuke replied.

"O-okay..." Naruto said, pondering over the new information.

"Well, if there isn't anything else, I'll take my leave. I have a lot of work all of a sudden." With that, Sasuke stood up. Naruto stood up alongside him, and was about to take him to the door when he suddenly remembered something.

"Oh! Sasuke, wait!" Naruto exclaimed as he dashed into his room and took out a bag. "Here, new sets of everyday clothing I bought for you with Itachi's budget. I was going to let you try it on here but I guess since you're in a hurry now..." Naruto reached his arm out and gave Sasuke the bag. Sasuke received it and nodded. To say that Naruto was slightly disappointed would be an understatement. He didn't know what he expected - they had only known each other for a few days. Did he really think that Sasuke was going to get all affectionate with him and stop acting like a bastard just from one kiss? Why did he even want that to happen anyway? It's not like they were dating or somethi-oh wait, then what did that kiss mean?

Naruto could feel himself twitch in frustration as his brain began to overload with all the confusing thoughts running around. Holding the bag that Naruto gave him, Sasuke sensed the blond's distress and could make a lucky guess on why. He smirked slightly and took a step towards the blond, leaning in. His face was only inches away from the blond's when he moved off to the side and whispered in Naruto's ear.

"We'll talk about this later," he whispered, mimicking the way the blond had brushed his lips against his ear earlier on in the evening, which was the reason why this all happened. Naruto couldn't suppress the shiver that ran up his entire body and the gasp that he let out, showing how he couldn't wait for 'later' to come.

And with that, Sasuke turned away and waved coolly as he left. Naruto watched in a daze as his 'client' made a turn and disappeared from his sight. He then sighed and turned around to an evilly smirking Sakura.

"What do you want?" Naruto said gruffly, not looking at Sakura directly in the eye. He wasn't confident that he could just chat about what happened right now. He would probably die from embarrassment.

"I wish you guys luck," Sakura replied, grinning like a maniac. She slapped Naruto on the back and Naruto began coughing from the force.

"Sakura that hurt!" Naruto said as he nursed the spot Sakura had hit him. She paid no heed to Naruto's complaints.

"Awwh, you like him!" Sakura teased, which caused Naruto to blush and take refuge on the couch, smothering his face with one of the cushions to hide from Sakura.

"I don't!" he yelled, the sound muffled behind the fabric of the cushion, but still too loud for someone who was telling the truth.

"You liiiike him," Sakura teased again. "You have a huuuuuuge crush on him!" She poked Naruto's side with her finger and Naruto jumped away from her, releasing the pillow during the process and revealing his flushed face. Naruto stuck his fingers in his ears, trying to block out Sakura's teasing.

"Shut up! Shut up!" he replied. "I don't have a huge crush on him! Maybe I like him a little, but he's still a bastard and I don't even know if he wants a relationship."

Sakura's features softened at Naruto's admission and she sat down beside him on the couch. "Awwh Naruto, don't be like that," she said. "Come on, he kissed you, not the other way round. That must mean something, right?" She ruffled Naruto's hair like he was a child. He could be so stupidly self-conscious sometimes.

"But didn't you see the way he left? He's a busy man. What makes you think he would want me?" Naruto said quietly.

Sakura rolled her eyes at that. "Well he obviously wants you. Anyone could figure that one out. And you're obviously just being paranoid. Didn't you see the way he left? He was teasing you. He obviously likes you back."

Naruto let out a sigh at Sakura's words. She always knew what to say. He hated feeling insecure - but everyone at this stage of a relationship would feel that way. He just couldn't believe how fast this was all moving and how quickly he was falling for the bastard. It took around 2 days and 1 kiss, and already he was falling for the bastard's natural charm. Sure, he didn't know how to dress himself, but that actually made him cute in his own way. Naruto felt a warm feeling in his chest as he thought about how much he had to help Sasuke in choosing clothes.

Sakura gave Naruto one last hug. "Look, just take this slowly, okay? There's no need to rush things. You guys don't need to be visiting each others' parents tomorrow. Just let it all happen."

Naruto nodded and placed his arms around Sakura's small shoulders. He smiled.

Sakura stood up and brushed herself down. She gave Naruto one last smile and waved him goodbye. She needed to get back and study! The mid-terms were coming next week.

* * *

><p><strong>End of Chapter 3<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading this far! Again, please review and tell me what you think! <strong>

**My chapters are getting longer and longer each time, and trust me, next week's chapter will be HUGE! But I'm not sure if I can fit it all into one chapter. I hope I can. It'll probably be the longest chapter yet! Look forward to it. **

**The kiss in this chapter was actually a totally unexpected development on my part - totally not part of my chapter plans. But it just came out! I think Sasuke and Naruto in this story just wanted it to happen. **

**Chapter 4: The UCHIHA team goes on a trip to a beach resort in Suna!**


	4. Change of Plans I: A Beginning?

**Hello! I'm sorry - I know I'm a day late and this chapter was expected last night. But I just got done writing it at 3am in the morning on Tuesday (that is, in my timezone). I was too sleepy to edit it and make the Monday deadline in EST (or just ET, whatever) - so I decided to leave it till Tuesday. Hope you don't mind. I just haven't been very inspired to type up this chapter because it's getting harder as the plot progresses. It's come to the point where it's not just Naruto dressing up Sasuke anymore! **

**Anyway, it's here now, so I hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

><p>"A Spring <em>break<em> internship?" exclaimed a messy-haired brunette currently lounging on a chair in a private study room in the library.

"Yes, Kiba, that's what he said," replied Naruto, who was sitting opposite Kiba with a laptop on the desk in front of him. The blond was typing a final paper while absent-mindedly chatting with Kiba.

"Woah, who gets Spring break internships? Spring break is like, what, 2 weeks max?" The brunette was spinning the pen he was holding on his right hand quickly while ignoring the assignment he was supposed to be working on. Finals week, what a pain.

"Stop disturbing Naruto, Kiba! Can't you see we're both trying to study here? Get out of this study room if you're not going to do the same!" Shrieked a frustrated Sakura, whose vein was beginning to pop on her forehead.

Kiba raised both his arms as if surrendering. "Just asking, geez. It's not everyday one of your best friends gets an internship during Spring break. Who wants to train someone for 2 weeks only for them to leave?"

Naruto sighed. "Well, it's not exactly training since it'll actually be like a job for me. Plus it's paid and all."

"Man, why are you so fucking pro? I can't imagine myself juggling various jobs AND acing all my classes at the same time. Actually, forget the pro comment, I think you're insane," said the brunette as he rocked around in his chair. He gasped as he almost fell backwards onto the floor but managed to hold on to the edge of the desk just in time. Naruto chuckled at his friend's stupidity.

"You're just incompetent, Kiba," Sakura chimed in, not amused. "Now shut up so I can study."

* * *

><p>"Are you sure you don't need help packing?" Sakura asked as she and Naruto paused outside of the lecture hall. They just finished their calculus mid-term and most students were already running off to celebrate the start of Spring break. Naruto on the other hand had to worry about packing for the flight he was boarding tomorrow morning to Suna. They were going to arrive early in the afternoon and begin shooting right away. There was going to be no break.<p>

"I'm okay, I swear!" Naruto replied cheerfully as he flashed Sakura a bright smile. Sakura smiled back but still urged on with resolve.

"No, Naruto I made the decision that I will help you and that's final. Now lets go to your apartment."

Naruto's smile faded slightly and turned into a sigh. "Fine Sakura. But you have to stop worrying about me. I'm set on all this and I will go through with it."

* * *

><p>An orange suitcase laid opened in the middle of Naruto's living room. The two college students threw clothes and toiletries into the suitcase gradually as they chatted happily. Music pulsed through the apartment giving them energy to finish up their job quickly. Soon, Naruto and Sakura collapsed on Naruto's couch, exhausted from the pace at which they packed. The suitcase was closed after a long fight with Naruto jumping on the lid. Sakura ended up re-arranging everything in the suitcase to make the lid close with ease.<p>

"How can your apartment be so neat and tidy when you can't pack your junk nicely in a suitcase?" Sakura inquired, her eyes closed as she recovered from all the packing stress.

"I don't know, Sakura, maybe I'm not good with small spaces," Naruto responded in a similarly exhausted fashion.

A comfortable silence ensued as both parties laid on the couch, unmoving. It wasn't until Naruto ears started buzzing from the quiet (he really can't stand silence for too long) that Sakura decided to speak.

"Naruto?" Sakura said, opening her eyes to stare at the ceiling.

"Yeah?"

There was a pause, but Naruto already sort of knew what Sakura was going to say.

"Did you hear from them?" she asked. Yeah, he knew.

"Well, I guess you can say I have. But you know, it's the same old. They just want to keep track of my progress with the degree. I keep telling them it'll be okay."

Sakura pursed her lips. "They keep contacting you because they're aware that you're overstretching yourself! And I'm worried."

"I'm sorry for worrying you, Sakura. But you know this is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I have to take it up no matter what."

Sakura sighed. "I know, Naruto, I know. You always wanted to set up your own company and this is one opportunity to gain the finances for it, but there are other opportunities out there too. I'm sure there will be other investors who will be interested in you. You don't have to rush and get all of this down in one year." Sakura placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Don't push yourself so hard," she said, as though warning him.

Naruto looked at his friend with tired but determined eyes. He could do this, and who was he to let a chance like this slip by? Opportunities like the one he was presented with were surely god-sent. His name wouldn't be Uzumaki Naruto if he gave it up!

"Sakura, I will absolutely figure this out. I'm sure it'll all be okay. Please stop worrying about me," Naruto said calmly.

"Stop it, Naruto! You have to make a choice! Stop being so stubborn - I'm going to be completely honest with you. You'll never graduate by next year if you carry this on. Your choice now is to either give up on your opportunity and stay financially independent from your parents while keeping your pride, or quit all your jobs, concentrate on graduating college, and let your parents pay tuition. The latter is the only way you'll graduate by next year."

Sakura glared sharply at Naruto. She had had enough of him brushing her off all the time and telling her everything was fine. It would be too late if Naruto didn't make his decision now - and all that awaited her friend would be disappointment and failure. She didn't want that for Naruto - he worked so hard and really deserved everything he'd achieved so far. She wasn't about to see him sad because of his own stubbornness, pride, and indecision. As the best friend she could be, she had to kick his ass.

Naruto remained silent as he mulled over what his friend told him. He hated to admit it but she was right. It had come to the point where if he didn't work less and study more, he was going to have trouble graduating before the deadline. But at the same time, he had told his parents that they wouldn't have to spend one cent on his college education, and he never went back on his word. He was doing fine supporting himself financially so far while continuing his education, but still, _it wasn't enough_.

Ever since he was young, Naruto dreamed big. He had always been that kind of guy. He never took no for an answer and never gave up. He was tough and stubborn - and just so brilliant. He was always confident and believed he could change the world. And so, having always been entranced by the world of fashion, he could never stop thinking about how he could use it to help others. In high school, Naruto finally came up with the perfect business plan. He was going to set up a company that specialized in fashion PR and styling - he was going to make people happy with fashion. Although he was going to let the business branch out into a possible fashion magazine and a store, everything was still in its planning stage, and he'd so far only gotten the business proposal written out.

On a complete whim, Naruto had sent his business proposal to various well-known investors. He didn't expect any of them to reply, but to his surprise, one of them did, and they happened to be the biggest investor of all those that Naruto contacted. The investor offered a large amount of money for the set up of Naruto's company - enough for him to last at least a year after the set up without any income from the company itself. It was a heaven sent offer, and Naruto couldn't refuse. The only catch was that Naruto had to graduate earlier than planned in order to set everything up, but of course Naruto agreed.

Naruto had been slightly suspicious at first - who would agree to invest in a company proposal a college student came up with, before the company was even set up? But it was all set in stone after they both signed the contract, and Naruto had read over it hundreds of times for any loopholes. There were none - apart from the fact that the contract would be annulled if Naruto didn't graduate by the expected date.

Which all came back to the decision that Naruto had to make, and fast. The investor's money and creating his dream company, or his promise to his parents and his current life?

"Make your decision over Spring break, okay?" Sakura suddenly interjected into Naruto's thoughts. Her tone softened as she patted Naruto on the head. "I'll ask you again once you get back from your trip, but for now, just work hard." The pink-haired woman smiled gently and stood up. "Well I guess this is all for today! I won't see you in a while. I hope you kick ass in Suna, but what then hell, I know you will."

The two hugged and said their goodbyes before separating for a week.

* * *

><p>Naruto woke up to the sound of someone pounding on his door mercilessly. The unforgiving sound evoked images of his door being broken from its hinges and falling all over his furniture. Naruto groaned, his eyes still closed. Fuck, he better go get that door before what he imagined really happened.<p>

Disgruntled and still wiping sleep off of his blue eyes, Naruto wrenched open his door harshly, making the person on the other side lurch forwards briefly before catching himself mid-step.

Naruto blinked as he recognized his visitor.

"Sasuke?" he said in his raspy morning voice. He coughed slightly and blushed when he realized his state of undress. He was only wearing his orange striped boxers. Why did he decide to sleep in his boxers last night? It's not like it's a habit.

The Uchiha only smirked as he leaned against the door frame and eyed the blond-haired stylist up and down, admiring the view. Naruto also stared in silence as he realized that Sasuke was wearing some of the clothes he bought for him during their last meeting. That included a monotone mixed-plaid button up shirt and a pair of black jeans. The clothes fit perfectly as Naruto knew exactly what size of clothes to get Sasuke after fitting some suits for him in their previous meeting. To sum it up, the Uchiha looked good - so so good. It wouldn't do for Naruto to express that thought in his current state of undress...

"Uhhh," Naruto stuttered as he tried to figure out why the Uchiha was at his door so early in the morning. It was only 7! "Go sit down somewhere - I'm going to take a shower!" And with that, Naruto ran to the bathroom and locked the door. Sasuke closed the front door behind him and went to sit down on the couch. Trust the dobe to forget that his flight was at 10am.

Sasuke was watching the morning news on Naruto's TV as though he owned the place when Naruto walked out of the shower in just a towel around his waist. Naruto had come to the realization as to why Sasuke was at his place so early in the morning during the course of his shower and had cursed his alarm clock for not ringing at the time it was supposed to. Sasuke's eyes followed the droplet of water that ran down Naruto's neck to his chest, circling a pert, pink nipple before reaching his stomach. He swallowed a lump in his throat - he could swear Naruto was standing there still dripping and damp just to taunt him.

The blond silently walked past Sasuke on the couch and into his room to change. Sasuke heard the sound of the door lock before sighing. He couldn't repress the urge to kiss Naruto last week - he was going to have a hard time keeping his hands to himself on the trip to Suna. But he had to keep their relationship professional for the sake of their work, at least, for the week at Suna.

"Lets go, dobe," Sasuke said as Naruto lifted his suitcase to make it stand upright. Naruto followed Sasuke out, locking his apartment door, but stopped when he got outside and saw the... automobile parked by his apartment block.

"You parked a limo outside my apartment? On my street?" Naruto exclaimed in shock as he stared at the sleek, black, regal car that kind of reminded him of a well-dressed version of Sasuke. "And is it really necessary to go to the airport in a limo? Ever heard of modesty?"

"Itachi ordered the car, not my problem," Sasuke replied curtly, getting into the car. After a pause as Naruto continued to stand outside unmovingly, Sasuke got impatient. "Are you coming or not?"

The driver took Naruto's suitcase and popped it in... some other compartment of the limo. The absence of his suitcase made Naruto realize that he was supposed to get in... and shaking his head in shock, he stepped into the car.

* * *

><p>Naruto slept through most of the plane ride, so that was uneventful to say the least. It was a sunny, beautiful day in Suna when they arrived. Most of the other staff members were either on the same plane or arrived earlier and were settled in the hotel near the set. Sasuke and Naruto made their way there with a few other staff members on the same flight. During the check-in at the hotel, however, the entire hotel lobby paused in its activity as a loud voice rang out from the reception desk.<p>

"What do you mean our names are entered under the same room?" cried a loud voice. The owner of the voice was a young blond man with fierce blue eyes who was currently glaring at both the receptionist and at the young dark-haired executive.

"Hn," Sasuke supported, chiding the poor receptionist as well.

"I-I-I don't know!" the poor lady replied, flipping through the bookings and clicking furiously on her computer. "All of the rooms are booked under the Uchiha Group and there is no specific name to tell us who did the booking..."

Sasuke cursed under his breath - he knew this was his older brother's doing. And knowing Itachi, this arrangement was done on purpose with no loopholes, so even if he asked for another room there would be none.

"Dobe," Sasuke started. "Lets just go. We need to start working."

Naruto spluttered as he glowered at Sasuke, surprised that the raven stopped arguing the case so fast. "But-you're in the same room as me! And stop calling me a dobe, teme."

Sasuke glanced back at Naruto briefly and smirked knowingly, hinting at their previous escapade. Naruto promptly shut up and felt a blush creeping up his cheeks - _this_ was why he didn't want to share a room with the bastard!

* * *

><p>The photo shoot was planned to be set on a swimming pool within the resort. The pool was closed during daylight for the crew members, but opened at night for all other hotel guests. Currently, the final touches were being made to the set to make it ready for the shoot. Sasuke was standing in the sidelines observing the progress while Naruto was helping out with the set up and giving last minute advice for the positioning of certain props and balance of different colors. The changes had to be approved by certain people including Sasuke, and although most of the crew were a little bit skeptical about Naruto at first, due to Itachi and Sasuke's support of him, the staff generally accepted Naruto as an addition to the team. After all, he was only an 'intern', and posed no threat to anyone's job in the short run.<p>

Of course, that didn't stop the slightly harsher treatment of Naruto by the staff, asking him to run certain errands despite his supposed temporary equal status on the set. But this was all normal treatment in the industry, so Sasuke didn't see a need to stand up for Naruto. He had to deal with it and build his own reputation.

All was smooth and just as planned, in fact, almost too perfect. It nearly didn't come as a surprise to Sasuke when the manager of one of the models who was supposed to be at the set already suddenly ran up to him. The young woman panted for a moment, resting her hands on her knees, catching her bearings. When she looked up, her eyes showed a pure sense of panic. This was an emergency that was going to seriously hinder the progress of the shoot and perhaps even make it miss the deadline.

"Mr. Uchiha!" The manager cried. "Reynard just came down with the flu. He's bedridden right now and we're unsure when he'll be well again. He's a complete mess. We don't know if he'll be able to make it to any of the scheduled shooting days."

Like the professional he was, or perhaps because he already expected something like this to come up, Sasuke reacted calmly.

"Hn, all right. Please return to the model's side for now. We'll find a solution - but keep Reynard around until the end of the shoot in case he recovers." Sasuke turned to the rest of the crew who were looking at him for instructions. He surveyed the area, racking his brain to come up with something quickly. They needed to start the shoot soon, but without their main model, they wouldn't be able to do that. A replacement for needed to keep up with the packed schedule, and Reynard was the best blond model they found - nobody could...

Sasuke's eyes widened as Naruto stumbled up to him with a confused expression on his face.

"What's going on?" the blond asked, unaware of the wheels that were turning in Sasuke's head.

"... Dobe."

Those were the only words that escaped from Sasuke's mouth before Sasuke took Naruto's wrist and began leading him to the dressing room.

"W-what are you doing, teme?" Naruto managed to get out as Sasuke practically ran to the dressing with his arm in tow.

"Our model has fallen sick. I need you to be his replacement for this shoot," Sasuke replied curtly, not batting an eyelash as Naruto's jaw dropped to the floor.

"What the fuck! I'm not a model, teme, never been and never will be!" Naruto shrieked. "Plus you didn't ask me before making that decision!"

"Hurry up, we don't have all day," Sasuke retorted, staring levelly into Naruto's eyes.

Naruto shook his head, refusing to back down. To that, Sasuke only sighed and ran his hand through his hair - his new hair thanks to Naruto. The blond had to admit that he really liked the way Sasuke looked when he did that.

"This is an emergency, Naruto," Sasuke said, his eyes still not leaving Naruto's. He may appear overly calm, but he was trying not to show that he was getting lost in those sparkling azure eyes. "We won't make it on time without you as a replacement, and you are the most suitable replacement. The model Reynard is blond-haired, blue eyed, just like you. These were the features we narrowed down our model search to in our initial plan. Please help us out."

If Naruto didn't know Sasuke better, he would think that Sasuke was simply being rude as always what with the bored tone he uttered his words in. However, Naruto did know Sasuke better, and he knew that this was Sasuke begging him to agree. He was here to help. For a college student like Naruto, it was an honor to even be on the set, much less actually be involved. This was the least he could do to repay Itachi for his support. Without thinking any further, Naruto nodded and pursed his lips.

"Okay, tell me what I need to do." Naruto found it hard to miss the small smile that Sasuke flashed at him.

* * *

><p>It should have been expected, but to be honest, Sasuke hadn't given it much thought prior to this. Naruto was sat on the diving board by the pool trying not to fall in, his body carefully still and his tan skin glistening under the sun. One leg was hanging off the diving board and the other was bent near his body with an arm slung over it. He looked delicate but strong, and to Sasuke, absolutely breath-taking.<p>

Naruto was wearing a teal silk vest and a pair of grey denim shorts with cuffed hems. The look was supposed to reflect a sense of relaxed luxury and class - like a rich boy on vacation. The vest was worn open at the front and was loose enough to reveal the expanse of Naruto's tan torso and lean muscles. The staff had sprayed some water on Naruto's body with a small water spray to give him a damp look, but not wet enough to be dripping, as well as keeping his hair dry. Overall, Sasuke was having a very hard time preventing himself from drooling at the sight. Naruto made the perfect model for this shoot - hell, he was probably better than the original professional model they hired.

They were going to take a set of photos on the diving board and then move off to the beach. The photos on the outdoor lounge chairs by the pool were already done and turned out just as expected. Very soon, the crew were going to wrap up this segment of the shoot and they were going to start shooting with another female model the next day. Everything was going as planned apart from the model change - but honestly, who could say it wasn't a change for the better at the sight of Naruto?

Sasuke knew he should be happy with the progress of the photo shoot - hell, he was having problems trying to keep his thoughts below PG-13. There's obviously another place that's very happy at the moment. Despite this, he couldn't suppress a nagging feeling that something just wasn't right. There was something about the entire photo shoot that bugged him. Even though the planning was flawless, the set was beautiful, and all the staff working on the project were the best in the field, something felt strange.

What could it be?

The dark-haired marketing executive of the Uchiha Group pondered over this as he watched the photo shoot proceed in silence, sipping a glass of white wine.

* * *

><p>To put it lightly, it seriously unnerved Naruto.<p>

Sasuke had been sitting on the lounge chair unmovingly for what seemed like an hour now, just staring into space. Naruto tried to get the raven to respond to him by poking him and calling his name but so far none of that had worked. During that hour, Naruto had showered, played games on his laptop, and watched TV. Now he was just frowning as he stared at Sasuke who was like the dead. You couldn't ask for a worse roommate.

Sighing, the blond stood up and walked towards the raven, deciding to make this his last try before retiring to bed and ignoring the man. He placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder before leaning in slowly. Sasuke didn't move an inch as Naruto's face came closer - it was as though he couldn't see him at all, lost in his own thoughts. It almost caused Naruto to jump back when Sasuke suddenly moved for the first time for an hour. The raven swiveled his head lightly to the side and locked eyes with the blond. Endless black met sparkling blue. Naruto's breath caught in his throat as he stared into Sasuke's eyes properly for the first time since they met - they weren't brown. They were much darker than he expected. They were a dark, deep, bottomless black. When he looked into Sasuke's eyes, it was as though the blackness stretched on forever.

"It's wrong," Sasuke suddenly uttered, causing Naruto to flinch, surprised, but a grip on his wrist kept him from stepping away. Sasuke stood up abruptly, not breaking his staring contest with Naruto, but he still looked like he was in a trance. Attempting to break the grip Sasuke had on his wrist, Naruto pulled on his hand only to realize that Sasuke's hand wasn't breaking off. Noticing the lack of distance between them, Naruto bit his lip and thought about just pushing Sasuke away and jumping back to his side of the room. But the blond couldn't retain his own curiosity on the subject matter Sasuke raised. It was the reason the raven sat still for an hour, lost in thought. He felt like he had the right to know after waiting that long for Sasuke to snap out of it!

"What's wrong?" Naruto managed to murmur softly. Sasuke could only hear him due to their present intimate distance.

"The photo shoot," Sasuke said in a matter-of-fact tone, as though Naruto should have known. "Can't you feel it? There's just something..."

Even though he wasn't a professional model, Naruto couldn't help but feel slightly hurt. Sasuke did pick him as the replacement after all. "I'm sorry I'm not as good as the original model," Naruto apologized, averting his eyes from Sasuke's gaze.

The raven stared at Naruto for a moment, confused, before realization hit him and he shook his head. "No," he replied, raising the hand that wasn't gripping Naruto's wrist and placing it on the blond's shoulder. "It's not you. I'm glad we got you to replace Reynard," Sasuke said, bending his head down slightly to look at Naruto better. His face was still an emotionless mask, but his words made Naruto smile and lean closer to Sasuke.

"Thanks, teme," Naruto said softly, his lips just an inch away from Sasuke's. "Then what's wrong?"

"It's just... it's something," Sasuke replied, stumped. "It's what I've been trying to figure out... I'll hold a meeting with the crew tomorrow morning before work starts." With that, Sasuke leaned even closer to Naruto and the electricity coursing through the small gap between their lips was causing the air around them to buzz.

"Yeah, we've got something else to figure out," Naruto said in a low, husky tone. Placing an arm over Sasuke's shoulder, he closed the gap between them.

* * *

><p><strong>End Chapter 4<strong>

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><p><strong>Thank you for tuning in to chapter 4 of The Stylist! Again, please review and tell me what you think! <strong>

**What do you think of Naruto's side of the story? Originally I was going to make it so that Naruto gets an offer to pursue his dream job in a dream company, but I found that out of character for Naruto - why would he dream of working in a certain company? That's like all the other business majors at my college dreaming to be an investment banker. Naruto's not that kind of person. So I wanted him to be an entrepreneur, you know? (I never did say what major Naruto was at university but I don't think that matters too much since he's gonna set up his own company and live life his way).**

**Also does anyone else think that the dynamics between Naruto and Sasuke are a little strange? I don't know - I'm still trying to figure out how to make their relationship a little more real. Like how they didn't completely freak out after they kiss and didn't pursue the subject much, letting it brew under the surface. But I thought about that and realized that there probably wasn't room for drama for 2 very career-oriented people. So Sasuke was going to try and maintain a professional relationship with Naruto as much as possible (no molesting each other on the set)! However, they're still young and I DID make them room together so...**

**Looking forward to all your feedback! Thanks to all the wonderful people who reviewed the previous chapter. I try to reply to all reviews that I can reply to (i.e. non-anonymous reviews) but also thanks to all those who reviewed anonymously. I hope you look forward to the next chapter. I'm still in the process of making Sasuke grow and realize his potential! As well as creating a roadblock for Naruto... harharhar ok it's not that bad.**


	5. Change of Plans II: Turning Point

**Okay, this was the hardest chapter to write ever. As you can see I'm really late in uploading it! I've changed my weekly chapter update day to Wednesday because I can't make the Monday deadlines very well. Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter. A lot happens! Seriously - that's probably why it took me so long. It was so hard to pull everything together the way I want.**

**UPDATE: I edited the ending of this chapter because it was contradictory - it was something I was afraid of ever since I wrote that last scene! Well, now it should be more natural so I hope you'd re-read it. **

**BIG THANKS to my awesome beta smartcat who writes awesome stories. I'm sure you've all read her 'Lessons to be Learned' and 'Popular' (among many other of her awesome fics)? If not you're seriously missing out! I haven't gotten around to editing my entire fic from beginning to end according to smartcat's advice yet, but I swear I will!**

**I also wanna take time here to thank all of my readers - especially TheRainLover who writes me essays as reviews and PMs. I'm sooo glad you like the story so much. :)  
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><p>Naruto jolt awake to the sound of his phone buzzing loudly on the nightstand beside his bed. Blindly reaching out, he grabbed his phone and accepted the call while still half asleep.<p>

"Hello?" He said with a yawn. What time was it anyway?

The strange but familiar voice from the other side of the line made Naruto's eyes snap open in surprise.

"H-hello, Temari!" Naruto slapped himself inwardly for stumbling over his words, hoping that Temari didn't hear him stutter.

"I apologize for calling you so early in the morning. But Gaara would like to check up on your progress and would like for me to report to him by noon," Temari said, her voice stern and professional.

"Why yes of course," Naruto replied, blue eyes staring up at the ceiling. "I just finished my mid-terms and am on an internship at Suna right now. On track."

There was a silence as though Temari was mulling over what Naruto said.

"You said you're in Suna?" the blonde woman said, a hint of curiosity in her voice.

"Yes, I'm working as an intern for the Uchiha Group," Naruto replied.

"I see."

There was another silence. Naruto tried to move the arm that wasn't holding his phone, but found it stuck when it collided with something warm. The blond physically stiffened and held his breath as he slowly looked to the side and gasped when he saw dark silky strands of hair and a pale neck. Awh, shit!

"Are you okay?" came a voice that disturbed Naruto from his shock. Realizing that Temari probably heard him gasp, Naruto quickly composed himself and forced a smile onto his voice.

"No, I'm fine!" he said, trying to sound as normal as he possibly could. There was a very sexy shirtless male that Naruto also happened to have crush on lying next to him in bed!

"All right..." Temari said hesitantly, her voice laced with doubt. "Anyway, it's great to hear that you're in Suna. You probably already know this, but Gaara's company's headquarters is in Suna and we think it would be great if he could meet with you during your stay in Suna."

"Oh," Naruto said in response, considering the idea. There goes the rest of his Spring break. "Sure. I'll be quite busy with my internship for the next couple of days though. Do you mind if we schedule a time and date sometime next week?"

"Let me check Gaara's schedule."

There was another silence as Naruto was put on hold and classical music started playing. Temari was Gaara's elder sister but also the vice president and executive assistant of the company. He didn't trust anybody else to handle his business matters. Gaara was the CEO of Sand Chemicals and Materials Corporation (SCMC), a company that owns and invests in the raw materials used to make fashion and cosmetics. He was a very mysterious person by nature and Naruto had only met him once in the meeting where he signed the investment contract.

The classical music in the background suddenly stopped and Temari returned to the line.

"Naruto, how about next Wednesday evening? Please tell us the name of your hotel. We will send someone to collect you at 7pm sharp and you and Gaara can discuss matters over dinner."

"That sounds fine," Naruto replied, slightly nervous. Crap, at this rate they would probably find out that he was struggling to keep everything on track with all the stuff he was doing and not taking enough credits in college.

The blond felt the warm body beside him stir and shuffle slightly; warm skin rubbed against his shoulder. Naruto felt himself shudder involuntarily and clammed his mouth shut to stay silent this time.

"All right, see you then." And with that, Temari hung up.

Sighing in relief, Naruto returned his phone to the nightstand and turned over sideways, propping his head on his arm, and observed the sleeping raven. How the hell did the guy not wake up from his phone conversation? He must be a heavy sleeper.

Speaking of sleep, that made Naruto trace his mind back to what the two did before they collapsed onto the bed together and fell asleep. The memory caused a warm blush to spread prettily over Naruto's face. It wasn't like they were going too fast or anything. Naruto knew that Sasuke was very careful not to rush things in order not to make things too awkward for their half professional and half personal relationship. On top of that, Naruto was a temporary model for the photo shoot so it's not like Sasuke could leave any marks on his body. Neither of them went farther than kissing and touching, but the searingly gentle touches that Sasuke left on his body made Naruto realize the possibilities... and what it would feel like to go farther. It made him want more.

Unbeknownst to Naruto, Sasuke was just beginning to wake up. The raven cracked an eye open and was surprised when that earned him an eye full of a beautifully scarlet Naruto lying next to him. The blond's mind was clearly somewhere else as he was frozen and staring right past Sasuke, his lips lightly parted. No one wore the oblivious and blushing morning look better than Naruto.

Groaning, Sasuke placed an arm behind Naruto's head and pushed the blond's head towards his, crashing their lips together in a sweet morning kiss. Completely taken by surprise, Naruto's eyes widened slightly before closing and kissing back, placing an arm behind Sasuke's shoulders and pushing them closer together. The kiss carried on for another minute before both men pulled apart for air, panting and staring into each other's eyes.

"We need to... get ready..." said Sasuke in his breathy morning voice.

"... Yeah," replied the blond, who made the first move to detach himself from the raven.

* * *

><p>"Let's go," said Sasuke as he exited the bathroom, fully fresh and changed. Naruto, who had been reclining on the bed waiting for Sasuke, looked up and smiled.<p>

"Sure." Naruto stood up but paused when he took a proper look at Sasuke.

Noticing the abrupt stop in the blond's actions, Sasuke tilted his head as though asking what was wrong.

"Sasuke..." Naruto began. "That's... the same thing you wore yesterday."

Sasuke looked down at his own clothes in confusion. "What do you mean? This is a different shirt and a different pair of pants."

"Well, I know that - but, it's the same style, you know? Same formula. It's like you dress according to the one idea you're familiar with, within one framework. Get what I mean? Fashion is meant to be fun, you should mix it up a little."

There was a silence between the two as Sasuke stared at the blond before his dark eyes began to stare right past the blond as though deep in contemplation over something. Before Naruto knew it, the dark-haired man had completely zoned out.

"... Oi, earth to Sasuke! You still there?"

Sasuke shook himself back into reality and inwardly widened his eyes in surprise (although his actual expression is still a blank slate) when he saw that Naruto was right before him. Did the blond teleport in front of him? One moment he was over there and the next he was right in front of him. The man was truly magical... not just because he would teleport, but because he was a fucking genius!

"That's it..." Sasuke suddenly said. He looked straight at Naruto and placed both arms on the blond's shoulders. "That's it, Naruto."

Naruto stopped speaking and frowned slightly, urging Sasuke on. "What?"

"I know what's wrong now. I know what's wrong with the photo shoot. It's what you said. You really got it this time," Sasuke said with a lot more excitement than usual. Naruto wasn't sure whether to be confused or scared, or just both.

"What? I got what? Huh?" Naruto continued, trying to get Sasuke to explain better.

"The photo shoot. What you said about me being formulaic and sticking to what I know works. That's a problem not just with the way I dress, but also with the entire marketing concept of this ad campaign."

"Oh..." Naruto said in awe. "Wait, I said that?"

Smirking, Sasuke ruffled Naruto's hair playfully and gave Naruto a quick kiss on the forehead while pulling out his phone. Naruto blushed lightly but remained confused as to how he inspired Sasuke's epiphany.

"Hang on, I need to make a phone call to organize an urgent morning meeting regarding this issue. We will be making big changes today. You may need to work extra hard as our model in the next few days."

Pouting slightly from the amount of staying still he was going to have to do (not Naruto's forte), the blond leaned his head on Sasuke's shoulder as he made the phone call.

"Well, you better know that I'll be the best model you've ever seen for the next few days. Believe it."

* * *

><p>The morning's events was how Naruto ended up redoing all the photos on the sets he already took photos on yesterday. Instead of the conventional and expressionless model expression, they wanted him to make his most natural pose and face. They did that by snapping photos of him while members of the crew chatted with the blond. This approach gave them the most beautiful and natural photos of Naruto in his truest form.<p>

The crew did the same with the other models on the same sets over the next two days. At one point, Naruto had to take photos with the other models, and he happily struck up conversations while the photo shoot took place. The result was a harmonious and pleasant photo of two young people having a relaxing vacation on a beach resort. It wouldn't be stretching it to say that the photos had a calming effect on anybody who looked at then. Naruto was naturally charismatic.

Upon finishing up, the crew congratulated each other on the success of the shoot - especially Sasuke, who came up with the whole new idea for the campaign. After redressing, Naruto exited the changing room and immediately spotted Sasuke chatting with one of the photographers about the photos on the screen - they seemed to be picking the best ones. Naruto casually strode over and looked over Sasuke's shoulder.

"Wow," was all the blond could say when he saw himself in the photos.

Turning his head slightly, black met blue as Sasuke, only a breath away from Naruto, smiled at him. Naruto's heart skipped a beat, not only from their proximity, but also from how gorgeous Sasuke was when he smiled. He needed to smile more.

"You did great," Sasuke said in a low voice, complimenting Naruto on his hard work. Naruto grinned brilliantly back at Sasuke and trained his eyes back on the screen. He pursed his lips in thought. He was about to raise his opinion on which photo was better when Sasuke beat him to it, surprising both Naruto and the photographer.

"Pick the first one," said Sasuke, who's expression was one of deep concentration as though contemplating the meaning of life. Naruto's eyes widened for a second before he couldn't suppress a huge smile that spread on his lips.

"I was just going to say that! You beat me to it," said the blond playfully. Sasuke smirked back at Naruto as he reached his hand out and squeezed Naruto's lightly before quickly letting go. Naruto turned to Sasuke in surprise, and no words escaped his gaping mouth. But he soon clammed his mouth shut and smiled lightly, with pride, like a teacher whose worst student excelled in the end.

* * *

><p>The staff working on the new ad campaign ended up finishing up so quickly after figuring out their new direction that they still had 3 extra days left in Suna before their scheduled return flight was due. Most of the staff spent the time relaxing at the resort and its beautiful beaches. But there was one person who just couldn't relax.<p>

It was already Tuesday and Naruto was getting anxious about his meeting with Gaara the next day. It wasn't that Gaara was scary or anything - hell, he was giving him a chance, he had to be a good person in Naruto's books! But he was very nervous about answering questions regarding his college degree verses his job. He still hadn't made his decision yet and he knew it was time to stop dilly-dallying. Yet, that was much easier said than done.

Nevertheless, before all that, he had to inform Sasuke that he was going to be out at night tomorrow, lest the Uchiha wanted to find him.

"Sasuke?" Naruto said as he opened the door to their hotel room and peeked inside. Sasuke was predictably sitting at the desk studying something, looking hard at work.

The dark-haired man looked up from whatever he was reading on his laptop. He seemed to be in a pretty good mood - he's been like that ever since the photo shoot wrapped up. He had been working a little less than usual (which was a lot) and getting some time to relax by himself at the resort. It was like a vacation he never dreamed to have.

Naruto smiled at the fresh aura that the raven emitted - much fresher than usual, that was, since it wasn't like Sasuke ever stopped working. That would be impossible.

"You look good," Naruto blurted out without thinking. He immediately blushed upon realizing what he said, but didn't take his words back. It wasn't like it was outrageous.

Sasuke smirked in response. "Is that what you came to say?"

"Hey, get off your high pedestal! This is my hotel room too - I can enter and exit whenever I want," Naruto retorted, crossing his arms childishly with a boyish charm.

Sasuke only chuckled slightly before returning his eyes to his laptop screen. Naruto sighed - that wasn't what he came to say!

"Anyway, Sasuke - I actually just wanted to tell you that... I'm not going to be here for dinner tonight," Naruto said, scratching the back of his head slightly while staring at nothing in particular.

"I see," Sasuke replied curtly, pondering over whether or not he should ask why the blond was going to absent tonight. "Are you meeting some friends in Suna?"

"No - no, actually, well, I have a dinner meeting with an acquaintance," Naruto said, unsure how Sasuke would react if he told him that he was meeting with Gaara of the SCMC, one of the Uchiha Group's biggest business partners.

Sasuke nodded, not pressing for more information. He would find out in due time, because Uchihas always knew eventually.

* * *

><p>Naruto gave himself another once over in the mirror for the last time before exiting his hotel room and heading out to wait for the car that Temari apparently sent to collect him. Just as he was told, there was a chauffeur standing by a fancy looking classic mercedes benz parked right outside the hotel. Naruto didn't know what kind of permission Gaara got from the hotel for the car to just sit its ass there waiting for Naruto, being a nuisance to the rest of the traffic.<p>

When the chauffeur spotted Naruto approaching, he took off his hat and bowed. Turning around, the chauffeur opened the backseat door of the mercedes and out stepped a sleekly dressed redhead who exuded a wealthy aura. Gaara nodded as he held out his hand to Naruto, who smiled and took Gaara's hand into his for a handshake.

"Good evening, Gaara," Naruto greeted.

"Hello Naruto, how are you?" Gaara greeted back.

"I'm fine. I'm sure you've heard about why I'm here in Suna from Temari already," Naruto said, scratching his cheek with a finger.

"Yes, I have," Gaara replied evenly, his face devoid of emotion. "That's quite the opportunity you have. But then again, so is this one."

Naruto grinned at that statement. Yes, he was the luckiest college student, seriously!

"You're right!" Naruto said with enthusiasm. Gaara's facial expression softened slightly as he watched Naruto smile. The man always brought sunshine to the atmosphere.

About 10 feet away from the entrance of the hotel stood a confused raven-haired man who concealed himself behind a large flower arrangement in the hotel lobby. Why didn't Naruto tell him that he was meeting, of all people, the CEO of SCMC, one of Uchiha Group's biggest partners? How did they know each other? And why were they talking like they were so close? It wouldn't be a lie to say that Sasuke was quite jealous. Instead of spending time with him, the dobe opted to go out for dinner with Gaara? The raven suddenly felt a sense of defeat - of course, he was just the marketing executive of Uchiha Group, nothing more. Of course Naruto would want to go out with a young CEO instead of him. If Naruto was dating Gaara, then what was the thing he had with Naruto? What did it mean to the blond?

What did it mean to him?

Dejected and overflowing with jealousy, Sasuke trudged back to his hotel room to sulk, and to figure out what to do when Naruto got back.

* * *

><p>"Are you ready to order?" asked a waitress dressed in the restaurant's assigned uniform. Gaara brought Naruto to Suna's most famous and expensive restaurant - Naruto had seen news articles about this place before. The exquisite interior design of the restaurant and the price of the food in itself was making Naruto nervous. Not to mention that he was sure that Gaara was going to start asking him questions after they order food!<p>

"Naruto?" Gaara said, sending Naruto a questioning look asking if the blond was ready. Naruto nodded slowly and inwardly gulped, glancing down once more at the menu.

After they made their order, the two men returned to their previous silence. Gaara just wasn't very talkative. It made Naruto uncomfortable, because he was the kind of guy that liked to engage in conversations whenever he wasn't alone. His hands were beginning to twitch on his lap beneath the table from the silence. He had to say something soon before his face started twitching!

Naruto opened his mouth and was about to say something - anything, when Gaara beat him to it.

"I'm not going to beat around the bush, Naruto," Gaara started, his tone serious and his stare blank. "I know why you're in Suna and I understand that you're working a lot more than a normal college student. From your previous transcript and the amount of credits you still need to graduate, I know that you're struggling."

"No, Gaara, I can make it. I promised you I would," Naruto retorted weakly.

"There's no need to try and cover it up," Gaara said, dismissing Naruto's retort. "You need to drop your positions at Uchiha Group and become a full-time student."

Naruto lowered his head, his hair covering his eyes. His face darkened and his mood became sour - he'd probably also lost his appetite. He knew, of course he knew all this. He knew it for a while now, but who could understand him? This decision was asking him to choose between his pride and his dream, and to him, one cannot exist without the other. Could he do it - sacrifice the present for the future? Sacrifice something he had come to love for something he had dreamed of loving? What was more important?

Not to mention that another criteria within the contract was that he had to make his start up in Suna - to benefit the people of Suna first and foremost. The SCMC's headquarters were in Suna as well, so it just made the transactions and communication between Naruto and the SCMC a lot easier. A while ago, Naruto would have easily left everything behind to follow his dream, but now he wasn't so sure. Following his dream not only meant leaving behind parts of his pride, but also his past and present life. All his loved ones - friends, family... and also Sasuke. He was going to become very busy and not have time to catch up with everyone. Was he ready to accept that?

The blond was so deep in contemplation that he didn't even notice when the food arrived. Gaara was already halfway through his plate of pasta when Naruto snapped out of his thoughts. Without saying anything else, he began eating. All that thinking made him hungry.

"I'll give you a week to make your decision," Gaara suddenly cut in. Naruto paused, a fork in his mouth. The food on the fork dropped back down onto the plate as Naruto's jaw went slack from the idea of having to finally choose. "I know the contract says that you have til the end of this school year to make your decision, but I want to help you. And you need to make your decision very soon if you still want this deal."

Naruto didn't look up from his plate. He didn't say anything and continued to eat. It wasn't until the last of his food disappeared from his plate that he finally looked up at Gaara, a spark of determination in his eyes.

"One week," the blond repeated, his face serious as he stared straight into Gaara's eyes. The CEO nodded. Naruto suddenly cracked a dazzling smile that made even Gaara want to smile back. "Thank you for everything, Gaara. You'll hear from me next week."

At that moment, the waitress came with the check. Gaara took out his credit card and the waitress accepted it before bowing and walking off.

"All that aside," the redhead added, surprising the blond whose eyes met his. "How are you doing, really?"

Naruto smiled again. On top of all the business, Gaara was actually a good companion and an overall nice person, although he was a little cold and not very talkative most of the time.

"I'm very good, actually. Helping out with UCHIHA's new ad campaign has been really fun. I became a replacement model," Naruto said with a laugh. Even he thought that it was ridiculous that he suddenly became a model.

Gaara smirked, a rare expression on his face. "I think you make a decent model."

"Just decent?" Naruto replied with a look of mock hurt.

"We'd find out when the campaign actually goes public, right?"

"Yeah, I guess," Naruto said, chuckling and scratching the back of his head. "But really, modelling and helping out at the shoot has actually been really fun. So much that I've managed to put most of that stuff about my college degree and my business at the back of my mind."

"Well, you better not keep it at the back of your mind. I'd hope it's more important to you than that."

"Of course it is! You can't possibly think I am that kind of person right? It's a lot of confidence points you've given me for giving me this deal."

"You're right," Gaara replied curtly. He took a sip from the glass of water on the table before standing up, taking his credit card that was just returned by a waitress. "And I must depart now. I hope dinner was good for you."

"Yes, it was delicious," Naruto replied, smiling as he stood up.

The two shook hands again before Gaara led the way out to the entrance where two very flashy black cars were parked outside. Gaara walked up to the first car and motioned for Naruto to go to the second one.

"It'll take you back to the resort. Enjoy the rest of your trip. I look forward to hearing from you next week." With that, the redhead got into his car and left. Naruto stood still staring at the departing black car before sighing and getting into the second car himself. The trip back was completely silent as Naruto remained deep in thought.

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><p>As expected, the hotel room was quiet when Naruto entered. He sighed before heading into the bathroom to wash up before going straight to bed. However, he was stopped in his tracks by a silently fuming raven standing in his way, leaning against the door frame of the bathroom. Sasuke didn't say anything as he stared at Naruto, his dark eyes blank, not giving away a single emotion. But Naruto could feel it - that dark aura just leaking out through the raven's skin.<p>

"Sasuke, I'm tired. I need to shower. If you have something to say could we talk later?" Naruto said, pursing his lips as he stared back at the taller man. Sasuke narrowed his eyes slightly but didn't budge from his position.

The blond frowned, but didn't give up. He tried to push past Sasuke, only to be pushed back, and the next moment, he found himself backed against a wall with the raven's arms on either side of his head, caging him. Naruto winced slightly from the impact, but schooled his features to glare up at Sasuke. The raven glared back at him intensely, his eyes burning through Naruto's skull, but the blond had no idea why.

"What the fuck, bastard!" Naruto spat out. He really wasn't in the mood for this.

Sasuke didn't know why, but the moment he saw Naruto walk through the door, his dull, gently simmering jealousy became a blinding rage, and he started seething with anger. He never quite pinned himself as a possessive kind of guy, but now from the way he reacted just to seeing Naruto get into a car with another man... well... he was just really angry. He felt as though he would do anything to get it through Naruto's skull that he was his.

Except Naruto wasn't his. At least not yet. Which was why the longer Sasuke stood there pinning Naruto to the wall, the more his boiling rage became lukewarm. His arms relaxed above Naruto shoulders and he exhaled, leaning forward to close the gap between himself and the blond. Naruto, although still not quite forgiving Sasuke for his unreasonable actions, gave in to the sensual invitation from Sasuke's lips. He kissed back. The two men stayed like that for a while until they finally broke apart for air. Both parties breathed in short pants as they stared at each other. It was then that Naruto gripped the fabric of the front of Sasuke's shirt and pushed him away slightly.

"Sasuke... what was that about?" the blond asked in a low tone, warning the raven about the consequences of not explaining.

The taller man ran his hands through blond locks as he tore his eyes from Naruto's gaze.

"I saw you with Gaara," Sasuke replied, his deep voice laced with an accusatory tone that didn't sit well with Naruto.

"And?" said the blond, urging Sasuke to elaborate.

"You were going out to dinner with him."

There was a pause before Naruto tilted his head in inquisitively.

"And?"

"Why?"

There was another silence, before Naruto suddenly had a light-bulb moment and started to giggle without control. If you squinted you would probably see Sasuke pout childishly while looking off to the side.

"W-w-wait, hahahaha, you thought - you thought we were dating?" the blond said while holding his stomach, unable to hold back his bouts of laughter between words.

"What else could it be?" Sasuke retorted quickly. "He was picking you up and you guys were going out for dinner. What was I supposed to think when I see that?"

"Okay, first of all, why did you even see us anyway? And second of all, Gaara is technically a future business partner of mine - so we're definitely not dating. I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier."

Sasuke raised his eyebrows at the knowledge that Gaara was a business partner of any kind with Naruto. "Business partner?" the raven asked. "And I can go anywhere anytime as I please. I saw you two by chance."

"Yeah, okay bastard. Look, the whole business arrangment with Gaara's company is pretty complicated. How about we go take a walk somewhere? I'll tell you about it, okay?" Naruto said, moving away from the wall that he was backed into by Sasuke not too long ago. He walked into the bathroom to wash his face without waiting for Sasuke's reply.

"Okay," said the raven, who turned around to gaze at Naruto whose face was dripping with water. The wet look was definitely one of the things that worked on the blond.

"Right, but now let me change out of these clothes in exchange for something more comfortable," Naruto said with a smile, a finger pointing at the formal attire that he wore to dinner.

Sasuke only nodded as he followed Naruto who flipped open his suitcase to look for some clothes. After finding what he was looking for, the blond closed the suitcase and took his clothes to the bathroom.

"What's wrong with changing out here?" Sasuke called out.

"Shut up, you perv."

* * *

><p>It was already already near midnight when Naruto finished telling Sasuke about his struggle between college and his job. He told him everything - from the fact that he may have to quit his positions at Uchiha Group to his eventual departure from Konoha to set up his business once he graduated.<p>

The waves were crashing gently against the sandy beach that lined the shore of Suna. Two men sat side by side on the flat surface of a large rock on the beach, watching the movement of the vast ocean in the distance and the way the water glistened as light was reflected off of the liquid surface. There was a silence between them after Naruto finished his story. Sasuke hadn't given a single response so far, preferring to stare off into the distance.

"So?" The blond suddenly asked, breaking the silence.

Sasuke turned to glance at Naruto, who was biting his lip as he looked at him with his sparkling blue eyes that seemed to show a sign of nervousness. Sighing, Sasuke leaned over and put his arm around Naruto's shoulder, pulling the blond towards him. Naruto complied and rested his head gently on Sasuke's shoulder. Another silence ensued between them, but Naruto could understand how Sasuke felt just from his gestures.

"If you leave your job at our company," Sasuke suddenly said, interjecting into the silence. "Will you still continue to... be my stylist?"

Naruto looked up from Sasuke's shoulder with a questioning gaze, before sitting up and climbing onto Sasuke's lap to face the raven directly. The taller man's breath hitched as their hips touched and Naruto placed both his hands on either side of Sasuke's shoulder.

"You want me to... continue to be your stylist?" Naruto asked.

The dark-haired man thought about the question for a moment, before slowly nodding. The blond sighed.

At that, Naruto couldn't help but flash a dazzling smile that made the Uchiha's insides melt. "You know, you don't really need me as your stylist anymore. Don't you see? You've graduated from the Naruto School of Fashion."

"What's that?" Sasuke asked in a teasing tone.

"It's the school you graduate when you've finally gotten the hang of what I've been trying to teach you, duh! Besides, what you did to the photo shoot... it was brilliant. Beyond brilliant. You heard that round of applause you got at the end of the shoot - it was for you, because everyone was thankful for your guidance on the project. I don't think you could have done something like that if you hadn't learnt what was beyond the mechanical parts of fashion that you could study."

The corners of the raven's lips curved into a smile as he held the blond closer to himself. "Thanks to you."

"You're welcome. That's probably the only time I'll ever hear a thanks from you," Naruto said, chuckling to himself.

Sasuke paused as he gazed at the blond, whose blue eyes twinkled in the dark from laughter, and whose blond hair seemed to shine in a way that made him look angelic. He was beautiful, and from less than a foot away, on a quiet beach at night, Sasuke knew what he wanted. He'd already gotten this far, from that first kiss they had two weeks ago to making out and cuddling in their hotel room, to now, with Naruto sitting on his lap telling him how much he'd improved. What else was there to be afraid of, to hold back? He had to say it now - now or never.

"Naruto," Sasuke started quietly.

Naruto tilted his head in response, urging the raven to continue. Sasuke gulped, thinking through the words could choose to use and how to put them together.

"I want... I want to continue to see you even if you quit your job at Uchiha Group..." Sasuke trailed off, trying to figure out if that was enough already, or if he should elaborate a little.

"Continue to see me?" The blond asked, his expression at once curious and surprised.

Now or never.

"Will you go out with me?"

There was a moment of silence of as Sasuke failed to meet Naruto's eyes briefly, fearing what he would see in those eyes. When he finally gathered the courage to look up, what he saw shattered his heart.

A troubled tan face staring back at him sadly.

There was another silence as neither of them could think of anything to say. Sasuke was confused, and Naruto was just... struggling. His eyes lowered, his blond hair covering his eyes. This might be a depressing decision, but it was the right decision.

"In another 6 months, I'll be leaving Konoha, for good," Naruto said sullenly, his blue eyes dull as they stared into obsidian orbs.

The raven-haired man pursed his lips, understanding what Naruto wanted to say but still trying to find a way to change their situation. "Well, then why don't we just see what happens in 6 months' time?"

The blond shook his head, removing himself from Sasuke's lap and standing up, facing the ocean.

"I can't."

"Why not?" Sasuke shot back immediately.

"Because," the blond stylist began as he turned towards the raven, his blue eyes expressive and glimmering with emotion. "I'm not confident that I can let go and leave everything behind if I let this thing between us go any further, Sasuke."

"But-"

Sasuke was cut off by Naruto's fingers on his lips, silencing him.

"Shhh, Sasuke, listen," Naruto whispered as he leaned over, his mouth hovering over the raven's ear. "My dream is something I can't give up. I made my decision tonight and I will follow through no matter what. It's hard, but I really hope you can respect my decision too."

Sasuke felt his heart beating rapidly in his chest, at a pace that made him feel as though it would break in half. And that wasn't too far from the truth. Naruto rejected him. He was heartbroken. But at the same time, this was the smart, determined, stylish, beautiful, handsome, and motivated blond that he had fallen for. It would pain him to be the one to put him in a cage a stop him from pursuing his dream. The raven felt that he was in no place to stop him - he had no right. But at least...

"... At least for tonight."

The blond looked up, his eyes widening at what Sasuke uttered. It wasn't very loud, but it alerted him all the same. The taller man stared back as he realized that he had spoken out loud, but couldn't retract his words anymore.

"Tonight, Naruto," Sasuke repeated. "Be mine, just for tonight."

* * *

><p>End Chapter 5<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Please review and tell me what you think! Do you find the events really scattered? Is the pace too fastslow? I find that I tried to fit a lot in this chapter - it's really the turning point, so it was really hard to write and really hard to put together. I couldn't figure out how I wanted a lot of the scenes to play out most of the time - especially that scene with Gaara. It was so difficult to write him in and try to make Sasuke somehow riled up about it. Anyway, I hope that you feel it's still natural. **

**I'm also deliberating whether or not to write that smex scene that was supposed to happen after the end of this chapter. It seems weird to begin a chapter with smex and then move on to something else, hahaha. What do you think? I know you're all gonna vote for smex... Well, drop me a review and tell me if you want that scene. **


	6. Relapse

**Okay, so most of you requested a lemon as expected, so I wrote my first ever lemon ever ever ever... this chapter. Of course, what did I expect, of course you'd all request a lemon! I asked because it's not completely necessary, but this scene ended up being almost 3000 words long on its own. It was super hard to write! **

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy it. I didn't want to make it sleazy and tried to keep it classy.  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Deep in the night, as the sound of waves washing gently onto the shore filled the air, two men stumbled into a hotel room clinging on to each other tightly with a desperation that could only be used to describe a pair of lovers about to be separated.<p>

Once the door was closed, the raven pinned Naruto against it and placed a hand behind the blond's head, stroking the soft blond hair gently. Sasuke leaned down and captured soft full lips into his own, kissing the blond gently before gradually increasing the pressure. He took a swipe at the blond's lips, earning a gasp from Naruto at the sensation, which Sasuke saw as an opportunity to deepen the kiss and enter his tongue into the other man's mouth.

A hand trailed down the tan torso, tracing lean muscles and the curve of a smooth back. Naruto trembled into the kiss when he felt a hand slip underneath his shirt, caressing his sides and moving on to his stomach. Smirking into the kiss, Sasuke let his hand travel further north until it reached a pert nipple. He gave it an experimental flick, which earned a soft gasp from the blond that broke the kiss. Loving the sound that escaped from the sinful mouth, the raven began to stroke the blond's nipple gently while attaching his mouth to the crook of Naruto's neck, kissing the sensitive skin there.

Shivering from the subtle pleasure, a pair of tan hands found their way to the small of the raven's back and pulled him closer. Both men groaned at the feeling of their growing erections rubbing together through the fabric of their clothes. Panting, Sasuke released Naruto's neck and began to trail his hands lower down until he felt the hem of the blond's shirt. Gripping both sides, he lifted the shirt as Naruto raised his arms and removed it, revealing the blond's lean and lightly muscled tan body. He had seen it multiple times up until now, but if the blond had looked beautiful back then, he looked absolutely god-like right now under the soft moonlight.

Sasuke pulled Naruto in for another kiss while he traced the beautiful body with his hands. Moaning from the touch, the blond moved even closer to the raven and began to grind their hips together repeatedly, making both men pause in their kiss as they felt the pleasure course through their bodies. Having paused from their kiss, the two were now staring at each other, their foreheads and noses touching. Without removing his dark eyes from blue ones, Sasuke palmed Naruto's erection through his pants, making the blond whimper and grip Sasuke's shoulders tightly. Taking that as a sign of encouragement, the Uchiha worked at removing the blond's pants. He pulled the zipper down slowly, not forgetting to tease the blond by lightly grazing his erection through the boxers.

"Ah!" was the sound that escaped Naruto's mouth as he felt fingers caress his erection through his opened pants zipper and boxers. He couldn't believe how sensitive he was right now, and that thought alone made him blush.

Smirking at the blond's erogenous reaction, the Uchiha pushed the rest of his partner's pants down and straightened up again, his eyes level with blue ones. Subconsciously stepping out of his pants which were pooled on the floor on his ankles, Naruto stared back and bit his lip, anticipating what was to come.

"Naruto..." said a deep husky voice as Sasuke leaned forward, causing their noses to touch and their breaths to mingle.

Naruto sighed into their proximity. His hands traveled down the raven's strong shoulders and his muscled biceps until they reached a pair of large pale hands. Grabbing both hands into his own, the blond leaned in and pecked the raven's on the lips before smiling.

"Hmm?"

Sasuke exhaled and squeezed the pair of tan hands. Staring into beautiful cerulean blue eyes, warm breath fanned the blond's full lips as he uttered his next words.

"God, Naruto... I want you so bad."

Naruto's breath hitched as he heard those words. They meant a million things to him - but most of all, they reminded him of the possibilities that he was going to forgo after tonight. Just thinking about it added an extra dose of desperation into his expressive azure eyes that widened from the sudden dull ache in his chest. Biting his lip, Naruto swallowed a lump in his throat and placed his hands around Sasuke's shoulders, pulling him into a tight hug.

"I know," he replied softly. "Me too."

Seeing the sad expression on the blond's face, the raven growled and drew him into a searing kiss that took their breath away. Naruto was overwhelmed by an intense emotion that seemed to be a mix between the pleasure he was feeling right now, that pang of sadness he felt in his heart, and something else entirely that overcame all his senses. He couldn't pinpoint what exactly that something else was, but he felt wholly consumed by it. Right now, that knowledge alone was enough because it was what drove Naruto to begin unbuttoning Sasuke's shirt and slipping it off the man's shoulders. He immediately began to work at the raven's pants with the aim of getting both of them equal in terms of their state of undress.

"Bed," the raven said as his pants slipped off his hips and fell to the floor. The blond nodded as he kissed the taller man once more while they both maneuvered themselves towards the bed. Naruto bent his knees as he felt the back of his legs hit the edge of the bed, making both of them fall onto the soft white fabric of the comforter. Sasuke began to ravish the smooth tan chest while he once again palmed the blond's erection through his boxers, making the his mouth fall open in a silent moan as he threw his head back, revealing the tantalizing curve of his neck.

The Uchiha swallowed at the sight and quickly gripped the orange boxers, pulling them off in one swift motion to reveal a dripping hot erection. The cold air caused the blond to gasp and squirm, but this reaction was cut short as he felt cold hands on his erection. The already writhing man bucked violently and almost let out a loud scream when he felt something warm and moist engulf his manhood. Hands clenching and unclenching, he gritted his teeth to prevent himself from letting out any loud embarrassing noises.

When the Uchiha realized the lack of verbal reaction from the blond, he halted his movement, causing Naruto to whine.

"Sasuke, why-"

The words halted at the tip of Naruto's tongue as he stared at the sight before him. Sasuke was staring up at him, his dark obsidian eyes like the sky during midnight and his pale skin glowing in the moonlight. His long fingers were wrapped around the base of his cock - and god, did Sasuke have beautiful hands. Furthermore, if that tent in the black silk boxers were of any indication - he was also rock hard, making Naruto swallow as he imagined what was to come.

"Naruto," said the beautiful man in a low husky tone as his obsidian eyes held the blue-eyed blond's gaze. "Look at me - I want to see your eyes."

There was a pause as Naruto listened and stared unwaveringly back at Sasuke. They observed each other for a few more seconds before the raven continued in a more demanding tone. "And don't you ever attempt to hold your voice back."

The dark-haired man leaned in closer and climbed fully on top of his partner, letting go of his erection and instead placing his hands on either side of the blond's head. Naruto felt warm breath fan his ear and shuddered at what his partner uttered next.

"I want to hear you scream as I fuck you, as I make love to you. I want to hear you yell out my name."

A moan escaped the blond's lips as he conjured up the image that Sasuke had painted in his mind. He never considered himself the type that liked dirty talk, but now he really needed to reconsider whether or not he knew himself at all. Just the images of what he was about to do with the dark-haired man on top of him was enough to push him obscenely close to the edge. He began to pant more rapidly and threw his head from side to side as Sasuke once again began to pump his erection.

Desperate for more and tired of the raven's teasing, Naruto reached his arms down and tugged at the black silk boxers. After a brief struggle, he finally kicked them off of the raven, revealing firm pale legs and a dripping manhood that made the blond lick his lips. Smirking, the blond gripped the raven's shoulders and forcefully flipped their positions around. He straddled the surprised Uchiha beneath him and began to grind their erections together. This caused both men to moan in pleasure and quicken the pace of the action.

Naruto couldn't believe how good it felt. He was close - his mind was beginning to fog up and all he could say and think at the moment was _Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke, oh god, ah, Sasuke_. When he was getting extremely close, he threw his head back and opened his mouth his scream out the raven's name - to announce that he was about to come, but the orgasm never occurred. Naruto felt a hand wrap around the base of his cock, preventing his release. He growled in frustration as he glared at the raven beneath him, who only smirked and flipped them around once again.

The blond fell on his backside onto the bed with an 'oomph'. Sasuke wasted no time to straddle the blond's hips and smirk even more in triumph while the man beneath him glared some more.

"Bastard," muttered Naruto who looked away and blushed when he felt a finger circle the rim of his entrance.

"Shhh, be patient," whispered the Uchiha who stared straight into blue eyes as he slowly inserted a finger. The blond bit his lip at the intruding sensation but didn't let out a sound. Taking that as an encouraging response, Sasuke pushed ahead and began to bend and twist his finger inside Naruto. This caused the blond to frown - it wasn't painful but it was strange and he wasn't sure if it would go anywhere.

However, he was forced to eat his own thoughts as the finger inside him grazed over a spot that made his eyes widen as he let out a silent scream. All he saw was white.

"Do that again," Naruto demanded, wanting once more to experience the overwhelming pleasure. Sasuke only smirked as he realized he had already found the spot and stroked it a couple more times.

"AH," cried the blond as his toes curled; his arms came up to wrap themselves around the raven's shoulders. He pulled himself close to the dark-haired man and panted loudly as his prostate continued to be stroked by one lone finger.

"Uunngh, ah, Sasuke, s-stop teasing me. Just do it already!" Naruto managed to bite out, barely coherent. His mind was swimming in a pool of clouds and he could barely conjure up any proper thoughts, let alone string together sentences.

There was a silence as the finger suddenly left him and the weight above him disappeared. Naruto panicked - did he upset the raven by telling him to hurry up? Why would that upset him?

However, his confusion was short-lived as Sasuke promptly returned with a small pack of lubricant in his hand. Climbing on top of the blond again, he covered his fingers with the cold substance and inserted one finger back in. The blond gasped slightly at the cool sensation that invaded his insides.

"Ah!" Naruto let out a surprised yelp as he felt a second finger enter him, stretching him out more than before. The two fingers moved in a scissoring motion, causing the blond to squirm uncomfortably as he felt himself stretch to accommodate the unfamiliar intrusion. It began to become painful as Sasuke inserted a third finger, moving his hand in a thrusting motion. Naruto bit his lip to try not to complain and tell his partner to remove his fingers. He felt tears form at the corner of his eyes from the pain but held himself together. It was almost like a reward when the fingers suddenly brushed against his prostate, making him gasp as he opened his eyes wide. The combination of pain and pleasure made him tremble and jerk in excitement, and he felt a tear that formed due to his previous pain escape and roll down the side of his face.

Sasuke paused as he noticed something glisten on Naruto's face; he removed his fingers when he realized that it was a tear.

"Naruto, are you crying? Am I hurting you?" he asked in a concerned voice.

"No," the blond replied quickly. "Please don't stop."

The blond spread his legs wider and placed a hand beside his entrance, tugging on the skin there to widen it as an invitation.

"I'm ready," he said in a low voice.

The sight of the blond spreading his legs and beckoning him to enter almost pushed Sasuke over the edge. Without further ado, he grabbed Naruto's legs and placed them over his shoulder. Positioning himself, he looked into blue eyes once more; blue eyes stared back at black ones firmly. Nodding once, the raven pushed himself into the blond, taking his time to savor the sensation of the warm, tight heat surrounding his manhood.

"Damn it, Naruto... you're so tight," Sasuke said, followed by a quiet moan. Naruto was too busy trying to ignore the pain of the initial intrusion to listen to what he was saying.

Once he was completely inside, he paused slightly to allow the blond to adjust to his size. After a few moments, Naruto looked up and gave him a nod, mouthing the word 'move' silently.

Getting the message, Sasuke didn't wait anymore and pulled out from Naruto quickly before slamming back in, causing the blond to cry out and grip onto Sasuke's back tighter. He was sure that there would be be scabs from the scratches the next day.

"SASUKE!" the blond screamed out as Sasuke made his third thrust. "There, do that again!" Naruto instructed wantonly.

Realizing that he had gotten the correct angle, Sasuke smirked as he adjusted himself so that he could thrust in the same way over and over again. The action made the blond scream louder with each thrust and tremble uncontrollably. The raven moaned and panted as he increased his rhythm, fueled by the blond's enthusiastic reaction. Reaching forward, he gripped the weeping erection of his partner, pumping it to the rhythm of his thrusts. This drive Naruto over the edge as he gripped Sasuke's ebony locks tightly.

"AH, SASUKE, uugggn I'm coming!" screamed the blond as he released a white substance onto his stomach and collapsed onto the bed. The image of Naruto's climax was embedded into Sasuke's memory as he replayed the scene over and over in his head while he quickly reached his own orgasm. Thrusting rapidly a few more time, he came into the blond and collapsed on top of Naruto.

It wasn't until another minute of panting had passed that Sasuke slowly pulled out of Naruto. A trickle of cum dripped from the blond's entrance and onto the bed. Obsidian eyes followed the trail of cum and licked his lips. He couldn't help himself as he smeared some of that cum around the surrounding area of Naruto's ass, causing the blond to frown.

"You pervy bastard," said the man beneath him as blue eyes glared up at him. But the glare soon vanished as the blond yawned and closed his eyes.

Smiling down at his cute stylist, Sasuke laid down beside him and put his arms around tan shoulders, pulling the blond close, a tan back against a pale chest. The two men fell asleep peacefully in that position, blocking out all their worries and troubles for the next day.

And the next day will come, but for now, it was important to cherish ever single moment while it lasted.

* * *

><p>He should probably have expected it, but Sasuke still found himself shocked when he found Naruto's resignation letter forwarded to him from Itachi in his inbox a week later. Maybe he had subconsciously felt that the blond would have stayed if they had bonded during that night. Maybe he believed that it would deepen their relationship to the point where the the blond wouldn't leave just like that.<p>

It was true that they had bonded that night. They even woke up with smiles on their faces as they greeted each other good morning, and Sasuke remembered thinking at that moment that he could probably accept the idea of waking up the same way every morning. However, when they finally arrived back at Konoha, Naruto said goodbye to him before boarding a taxi. He wasn't completely aware at the time, but that goodbye probably really meant _goodbye_.

Sasuke knew he shouldn't think this way, but he still felt that it wasn't fair. Naruto made it clear to him what his decision was and how it would all end up if he tried to pursue the relationship further. He knew it wouldn't go anywhere, but he still insisted on having Naruto just for one night... and what was the result? He hurt himself. Maybe he even hurt Naruto, but the blond didn't show it. They were two men consumed by their desire, something out of their control, but reality hit like a meteor and now everything just evaporated.

Now, there was nothing left. He had no excuse to see Naruto because they weren't together and their work didn't cross each other's paths anymore. Moreover, the blond requested Itachi to tell him specifically when resigning that he didn't want to see him anymore. He said something about not wanting to deepen the relationship and the memories because it will become a distraction. The idea that he could even be a distraction of any kind really irked Sasuke, but at the same time, he knew where the blond was coming from.

Naruto was a smart, determined, and beautiful young man with a huge dream. Who was he to stand in between? He had no right.

Which was why Sasuke tried his best to continue on with his life, to get out of bed everyday and work on marketing projects like he used to. But it wasn't the same. Every time he opened his wardrobe in the morning, he would see the clothes that his handsome stylist had picked out for him. The sight would tug at his heart and he would feel an inexplicable emptiness. As a result, he had now packed all of those clothes into a box and stored them away. He was back to wearing what he had before he met Naruto.

That also meant that he had relapsed.

However, not only had he relapsed, his broken heart had also began to effect his work.

* * *

><p>Itachi sighed in frustration as he received another email on a new marketing proposal from Sasuke's team. There was a follow-up email - a cry for help, asking Itachi to intervene as his little brother's permanent mood swing was seriously effecting his work attitude.<p>

It had already been a few months since Naruto left, but younger Uchiha still hadn't gotten over it and continued to let his mood effect his work. Lately, all the project proposals from the marketing department had been depressing to say the least. The themes featured - among other things - heartbreak, loss, failure, and death. The audience of the Uchiha Group's brands were very rarely receptive to such themes.

As much as Itachi would like to let his little brother overcome his own heartbreak and realize his own stupidity, he really couldn't let the company release a 30 second commercial on their new product with the theme of suicide. Which was why intervention was necessary. He needed to talk to Sasuke.

There was a knock on the door. The younger Uchiha didn't look up from his work, but instead grunted softly as an indication that it was okay to enter. The door opened slowly to reveal the tall figure of Itachi Uchiha, dressed in a crisp black suit with a purple tie. Sasuke didn't even need to look up to know that his brother was paying him a visit. The older Uchiha's presence alone was familiar enough to him to identify with pure instinct.

"What do you want?" the younger raven bit out, his tone laced with annoyance. For the past few months, his older brother had been paying him visits every now and then to verbally reject his marketing proposals. Not every single one had been rejected, but Sasuke's proposals were never rejected, so these past few months had been record-breaking for him.

"I can't pay my brother a pleasant visit now?" replied Itachi in an amused manner while shutting the door behind him. Despite the amusement, his face remained solemn as he contemplated what he was going to say.

"I'd rather you not," said Sasuke, glaring up at his brother. The elder Uchiha sighed as he noticed the bags under his younger brother's eyes, but didn't say anything about them.

"As you know, I'm afraid I have to reject your latest proposal as well," Itachi said sternly, his eyes not swaying from the stare he was giving the younger raven. Sasuke only stared back. There was a silence between the two before the younger brother huffed.

"Then? Why are you still here? Get out of my office," he bit out, sending his older brother another deathly glare. However, Itachi refused to move as he stood firmly by the door.

"Sasuke, I don't normally intervene, but you need to stop this bullshit right now," said a demanding voice. There was a hint of anger behind the elder Uchiha's controlled, smooth tone. Anybody with half a brain would know not to cross Uchiha Itachi when he spoke to you like that.

Not Sasuke.

"I don't know what you're talking about," was the younger raven's dismissive reply as he ignored the other presence in the room and continued to stare at his desktop monitor.

"Foolish little brother. If you insist, I shall spell it out for you. Your recent work has been mediocre. Your proposals are absolute trash, and don't even get me started on your complete lack of ability to manage your team properly and complete assigned tasks as requested," Itachi spat out venomously. There was a pause as Sasuke slowly looked up to meet his elder brother's eyes. His gaze was firm but lacked confidence.

"You have become incompetent," the elder raven added. "And if you don't quit fucking around right now, you will lose your job. I will have no mercy."

Itachi paused as he allowed the information to sink in. Sasuke's gaze hardened as he stared unwaveringly at his elder brother, biting back the snide remarks he wanted so badly to hurl at the man standing before him.

"You didn't use to be like this," the elder raven continued, his tone a lot less threatening and much softer. "Even though you didn't grasp the concept of instinctive visual beauty very well, you were analytical, knowledgeable, and had the ability to use your skills to create tremendous results."

There was another silence as Itachi observed the owner of the room. He had a withdrawn look on his face as though lost in his own thoughts. The company director sighed as he took a few steps towards his younger brother.

"Look," he started, hoping that what he was about to suggest would help the depressed man at least a little. "Naruto-" at the sound of the name, Sasuke's ears perked up and he urged his brother to continue as a hopeful look flashed across his eyes. "-is graduating in a few weeks. I think it would be good for both of you if you surprised him at his graduation."

"Itachi..." whispered the younger man weakly.

"Tie up the loose ends," was the last thing the elder Uchiha said before he turned to leave the room. He was never the one to give love advice, but damn, did his little brother need it. Even if it was from someone like him. He knew that Sasuke needed closure - he needed to see the blond once more, even if it was just for a moment. Itachi hoped they would get to part properly this time.

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><p><strong>End of Chapter 3<strong>

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><p><strong>Please review!<br>**

**Oh-ho-ho! At least now you know they'll see each other again. :3 Will Naruto leave? Or will he stay? What do you think? **


	7. Evolution

**Whoo, finally got this one done! Once again, thank you for all the reviews on the past chapter. Don't worry! I promise a happy ending. **

**I'm quite proud of this chapter - I think I achieved what I set out to achieve. More on that later after the chapter. :)**

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><p>Finally.<p>

It was hard to believe that it'd already been half a year since he'd quit his positions at Uchiha Group.

Naruto stood in the middle of a crowd full of graduating students wearing his graduation gown and hat, with his degree certificate in hand. It was a warm day in April and Naruto was one of the students graduating. After six years of juggling school work with part-time jobs, he'd finally made it, and it was time for a new chapter.

He couldn't help but smile. It was a beautiful day - blue skies, white clouds, chirping birds. The warmth of the sunlight that caressed his face was gentle and soothing. It was simply the best day he'd had since he left Uchiha Group. Everyday had been miserable after that, but Naruto knew he had to deal with it, because surely, things could only get better from there. He was glad he was right about that, because right now, he couldn't feel any better.

He had contacted Gaara the week before to inform him of his graduation, and the executive had made travel and lodging arrangements for him in Suna immediately. Everything was already set up for him there, and all he needed to do was to make use of the funding to start up the company. After that, he would see how everything goes. To say that Naruto was excited would be the understatement of the century, because seriously, he was far beyond excited. Not only had he graduated on such a beautiful day, but he was finally going to realize his dreams.

Walking away from the crowd, he decided to look for Sakura and his other friends so they could hang out a bit later. It was probably going to be one of the last times they could hang out like this, as college students. He needed to treasure his times here.

Smiling, the blond turned a corner and looked around. What he saw - or more like who he saw - the next moment made him stop dead on his tracks.

Just like that, his brilliant mood vanished and was replaced with a sombre, uncertain feeling - the feeling you had when you didn't know what to feel.

A sense of deja vu hit him; Naruto was reminded of his first meeting, with _him_.

Uchiha Sasuke, dressed in an awful faded yellow shirt that looked like it was once white, was standing five feet away from him.

In a moment of confusion, Naruto's mind went blank.

This was the man that he had worked so hard to forget. The man who he had almost successfully forgotten. He used to wake up in the middle of the night with an unbearable pain in his heart that overtook his senses, filling his mind with thoughts and images of _him_. But after half a year of effort in trying to forget and move on, studying hard for exams and keeping himself busy, he had managed to suppress his heart ache and turn it into a mild sting. In only a few days, Naruto would moved away from Konoha, leaving behind everything he had, to start a new, clean chapter.

This man...

Naruto punched him squarely in the face.

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><p>Well, that was unexpected - was the first thought that came to Sasuke before the pain registered in his mind. He stood still, stunned for a few seconds, before finally reacting, his hand shooting up to cradle the side of his face. He was sure that there was going to be a huge bruise forming there soon.<p>

Despite his shock and the urge he felt to strike back with a punch of his own, he managed to hold back his fists as he simply stared at Naruto with an unreadable look in his eyes. Naruto had visibly braced himself for retaliation, but was surprised when nothing happened.

When he realized that Sasuke wasn't going to react physically and caught sight of the raven's unmoving stare, he felt his anger surge once more and threw another hit. This one propelled the taller man to the ground, and Naruto wasted no time to jump on him, attempting a few more attacks. A violent struggle occurred as the two men fought on the ground, rolling around as the blond was set on inflicting physical harm while the raven tried to block the attacks and keep the blond's movements at bay.

"What-" the dark-haired man began as he blocked another punch from Naruto and gripped the other man's wrist to stop any further attacks temporarily, "-the fuck is your problem?"

At the question, the blond growled and released his own wrist from Sasuke's grip with sheer force. He straddled the raven as he glared down at him, holding the man's arms against the ground.

"You! That's the problem," the blond retorted with a yell as he attempted another punch at the raven who caught the fist and twisted the tan arm. This earned a pained cry from Naruto who grimaced at the awkward angle that his arm was forced to be in. Sasuke kicked himself off the ground with his hips and legs, successfully pushing the blond off of him. Naruto landed back first on the ground, hissing as the impact occurred, but what displeased him the most was the fact that the raven now had him pinned securely on the floor with his arms above his head.

The blond averted his eyes from Sasuke, who he knew was staring at down at him intently. If he looked up, there was no doubt that the raven would read his emotions through his eyes. He struggled against the taller man's grip for a little while, but slowly came to a stop as he finally resigned to the fact that he might have to talk to the raven.

"Why are you here?" asked Naruto calmly; he even surprised himself with how he managed to control his voice.

Sasuke seemed to contemplate that question for a moment.

"I..." he trailed off as he suddenly became unsure of what he was going to say. However, his resolve returned when he realized that this could be his last chance. "I wanted to see you."

Naruto frowned in response to the answer he had gotten, feeling a familiar sense of rage simmer inside him.

"What the fuck, bastard," the blond bit out, his voice filled his venom. "You are such a selfish prick."

At the sound of the insults, Sasuke pursed his lips in confusion as a frown marred his face. He didn't know why Naruto was calling him these things. To be honest, he had expected the blond to be just as happy as he was to see him.

Naruto sighed as he realized that the raven had no idea why he was not welcome in his life at the moment. However, he had come into terms with the fact that his efforts for the past few months had come to waste due to the sudden appearance of the source of the problem in his life.

"Fine, I'll spell it out to you," said the blond as he stared straight into dark obsidian eyes. "I tried so hard to forget you for the past few months. And just when I'm finally succeeding, what gives you the right to suddenly waltz back into my life?" Naruto's voice was steady and dangerous as his eyes gleamed venomously. "What makes you think that is okay? Did it ever cross your mind that I didn't want to see you?"

There was a flash of hurt in Sasuke's dark eyes as he listened to Naruto's words. The sight almost made the blond take back everything that he had said, but a he narrowed his eyes instead, determined give the raven a piece of his mind. When he felt the grip on his wrists loosen, he immediately released himself by pushing the raven off of him. Naruto stood up swiftly, taking a few steps away from the man who was still on the ground, trying to catch his bearings.

Turning back briefly, the blond took note of the way the raven still managed to look easy on the eyes when he was dressed terribly, but quickly suppressed the thought.

"I don't want to see you again, please stay out of my life," Naruto said coldly, intending to walk away once and for all. He felt tears forming in his eyes as he realized that the decision he made right now was going to stay with him forever. There was no turning back - his pride and his goals won't allow it. He was almost there, and there was nothing that could stop him.

Naruto truly believed he had shot Sasuke down completely this time, but what he didn't expect was for a sudden force to pull him backwards, making him gasp in surprise. He felt himself land on something warm, and a pair of strong arms wrapped themselves securely around him, not allowing for any escape. Something soft tickled the side of his neck; and at the familiar scent that suddenly filled his senses, he realized that Sasuke was embracing him from behind.

Subconsciously, a lone tear fell from blue eyes that were glimmering with emotion. Catching sight of the shimmering trail of moisture on the side of Naruto's face, Sasuke leaned forwards and placed a kiss on the blond's cheek. The action made the blond's lips tremble as he tried to hold back the rest of his tears, not wanting to cry in front of the raven.

"Stop it..." said Naruto weakly. His voice sounded pathetic even to his own ears, his command lacking in conviction.

"I... Please listen to me, Naruto," said Sasuke in a low voice as he whispered softly into the blond's ear. Naruto subconsciously leaned back on Sasuke, which he interpreted as a signal to continue, and also a positive sign. "When you were gone... I lost it. I couldn't work like I used to, even though I tried my hardest to. I couldn't stop thinking about you; wondering what you were doing and whether or not I'll ever see you again. I just..."

There was a pause as Sasuke gathered his thoughts. Naruto bit his lip as he tried to calm his breathing, to not react to the raven's soft words, to not be overwhelmed by the emotions he was feeling, but he knew he was failing. He felt another tear escape from his eyes.

"It wasn't just with work - I guess one of the most obvious setbacks was the way I dressed. Whenever I see the clothes you bought for me, the evidence that you were once in my life... I couldn't take it."

With that, Sasuke buried his face into the crook of Naruto's neck, breathing in the fresh lemony scent. This caused a soft sigh to escape the blond's lips as he leaned into the touch.

A silence settled between the two men as they contemplated their relationship and their position in each other's life. Slowly, Sasuke shifted his arms and moved around the blond to stand in front of him, keeping a secure hold on his shoulders. The sight of Naruto's tears tugged at his heart. Gently, he raised a hand to cup a tan cheek, stroking the moisture away with his thumb.

A look of desperation to flash across blue eyes. The blond's arms shot up suddenly and circled around the raven's shoulders, pulling them flush against each other. The hug felt like one between lovers who hadn't met in years - two people who missed each other dearly.

"Sasuke..." said a blond in a low, scratched voice. "Why do you have to make everything so difficult?"

"I'm a bastard, aren't I?" replied the raven as his lips slowly curved into a smile. "Besides, I could ask you the same thing."

"You're not going to let me leave Konoha in peace, are you?" asked Naruto as he pulled away from the embrace slightly to look into dark eyes.

Nose to nose with the fresh college graduate, Sasuke stared back meaningfully. "You left so suddenly without a word. I have a feeling that we could use some communication that doesn't involve our fists."

Naruto couldn't help but smile a little at that as he realized what it was that Sasuke wanted from him, and that maybe he was right.

"Closure," the blond said suddenly. "That's what we need, right?"

The raven tilted his head, causing their noses to rub each other; he smiled. "I'm not here to stand in the way of your dreams. That's the last thing I want to do. But, spend this day with me?"

Naruto smiled back - maybe the raven was right. Maybe this could be the solution to the dull ache in his heart. He had looked everywhere for a way to heal the emptiness he felt, everywhere but here. Maybe that was why he couldn't move on completely.

"Okay, sounds fair," murmured the blond as he placed his hands behind a pale neck and leaned upwards to place a chaste kiss on thin pink lips.

"Can't get fairer."

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><p>Due to Naruto's constant pestering during the car ride to what was supposed to be the cafe Sasuke was taking the blond to, they ended up at the marketing executive's home.<p>

"Such a waste of my efforts!" Naruto had said. After some convincing, the raven finally relented and took the ex-stylist to his home, agreeing to allow the blond to dig up the boxes that stored 'all his hard work'.

"I can't believe you really reverted to your old self. You were doing so well!" said the blond as he dragged a box out from the storage room. Using the pair of scissors he grabbed from the kitchen, he cut open the box and began taking out the pieces of clothing he had picked for the dark-haired man, throwing them onto the couch.

There was a short silence.

"Well what else could I have done?" retorted the raven bitterly in a quiet tone.

This caused the blond to pause in his actions as he looked over his shoulder at Sasuke standing a few feet away from him. Sighing, Naruto stood up and looked at his hands.

"I'm sorry," said a quiet voice. The apology caused dark eyes to widen. Sasuke was about to interject when Naruto suddenly turned, blue eyes piercing into black. "I'm sorry for causing you pain."

"Naruto, we were both-"

"But I'm not sorry for leaving," the blond added, cutting the raven off.

The statement shut Sasuke up effectively as he paused to think over it. However, his thoughts were also cut short as the blond suddenly closed the distance between them. A pair of arms wrapped around his shoulders and linked behind his head as they pulled him forward so their foreheads touched.

"It's just..." the blond began, staring thoughtfully into confused dark obsidian eyes. "Once I get to Suna, it's going to be work, non-stop. It's probably going to be like that at least for the next two years. I'm not going to have time for anything other than work. But I'm not going to regret my decision because of that. I'm not going to regret my dreams."

The pair of hands somehow found its way to the small of Naruto's back and tightened its grip on the fabric of the shirt, pulling the blond even closer to the raven. Leaning down, Sasuke placed a quick kiss on Naruto's lips.

"I know," the taller man replied softly. It was difficult to figure out how he felt about all this, but hearing Naruto explain his situation to him openly like this really helped him put it into perspective. Maybe, just maybe, their time wasn't now. Maybe...

"A few months ago, I would have told you it's not okay," continued Sasuke. He paused again to ponder on what to say, but soon straightened with a newly gained confidence as he looked straight into Naruto's eyes. "I missed you terribly. I think I must have fallen harder for you than I initially thought."

At that, the small smile appeared on the blond's lips as blue eyes crinkled.

"Me too."

Sasuke returned the smile with a smirk of his own. "But now... I think - everything happens for a reason. So even though I know you're leaving-"

A finger placed gently over his lips halted the raven in his speech. There was a look of understanding in Naruto's eyes as he nodded, removing his finger and pulling Sasuke into a tight embrace.

"I understand," Naruto said quietly. "The timing isn't right this time, so it'll never work out if we try to force it. But maybe we could treat this as a test and hope that in a few years, we will still be anticipating that there will be a next time where we can get it right."

Maybe in two years, five, or even ten - the two could meet again under the right circumstances.

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><p>Naruto's departure was bittersweet, but for some reason, the hole in his heart had all but disappeared. It may be strange to say this, but as Sasuke watched the plane take off at the airport, he felt... healed. Unlike what the blond had originally assumed, avoiding each other didn't make the idea of separating from the one you love any less painful. It was true that time washed away the hurt, but all that became was a dull ache and a sense of emptiness that never went away.<p>

Sasuke turned from the window of the airport and began to walk towards the exit to the parking lot. He really had Itachi to thank, because if it weren't for his advice to meet Naruto again, he might still be tossing and turning in his sleep every night and doing terribly at work. Unlike what Naruto had originally assumed, avoiding each other wasn't the solution. What they needed was closure - to come into terms with the fact that there had been something between them, and that they had parted in an incomplete way that left both of them yearning for each other.

To face your weakness was a terrifying thing, but Sasuke was glad he had the courage to do so. Again, he had a bastard of a brother to thank, which ticked him off, but his gratefulness remained.

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><p>Ever since Sasuke met Naruto again at his graduation and sent him off at the airport, he must admit that his little brother had been better than ever. Not only was he back to his previous level of competency - no, that wasn't right. He wasn't just competent now, he was way beyond that. Sasuke was not only dressed immaculately every day, but he was turning in high quality proposals well before the deadline and going the extra mile to drive the marketing department to become the best department in the entire company. Itachi wouldn't be exaggerating if he said that his brother ran the best marketing department in Konoha.<p>

Leaning back on his chair, the older Uchiha stretched slowly as he skimmed the document placed on his desk during lunch break. It was a document from Sasuke. He originally thought that it was going to be another mind-blowing marketing campaign idea - well, he wasn't too far off. But this time, it was slightly different. It wasn't just another campaign that followed the mold of the past campaigns. In fact, it was something that was never done before by the company, or any other luxury retail company of similar standing.

Smiling as he read through the outline of the document's contents, Itachi pressed a button on the phone to reach his brother.

"Uchiha Sasuke, Uchiha Group Marketing Department," replied a stern voice.

"Little brother," said Itachi as he flipped a page on the document.

"Itachi? Did you see the document?"

"Yes," the older Uchiha responded. "It has potential. How about we hold a meeting later on this afternoon to discuss the details. You can present your idea to the rest of the board."

There was a pause. Itachi knew that Sasuke was rejoicing over the fact that his proposal would get through now that he could present it. Always the confident one.

"That would be great."

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><p>Finally, he was going to have something of his own - something he could be proud of. This was going to be a part of his legacy during his time as the marketing executive of the Uchiha Group.<p>

Squaring his shoulders and straightening his back, Sasuke let a light smile grace his lips as he knocked on the door to the meeting room where he knew the board of directors were already waiting for him.

"Come in," said his brother's voice.

Naruto's face suddenly flashed across his mind, giving him a pure smile as he reached out his hand. Sasuke could almost feel the blond's warm touch on his arm as it squeezed him gently and encouragingly.

Yes, this was it.

And Naruto was the reason and inspiration behind it all.

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><p><strong>End of Chapter 7<strong>

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><p><strong>Thanks for reading! Please review and tell me what you think. Don't worry - this is not the end! Still maybe 1 or 2 chapters coming - not sure how many but will depend on the pace of the next chapter. Hope you liked it!<br>**

**And to answer what I was talking about in the A/N in the beginning of this chapter: the biggest achievement in this chapter - something I was set to do since the beginning of this story - was the development Sasuke's character to make him into someone who wasn't just a fashion knowledge robot. I wanted him to not only be able to recite the names of the fashion collections from every season since he was born, but also be able to use that knowledge to create something. Before all this, all he ever did was what he needed to do - he treated his job as... a job, and although Sasuke loves his job, he doesn't see it as something he could have fun in. **

**I think what he needed in order to really enjoy his job was to have something he could be proud of. And perhaps to have that, it needed to be something he truly felt was his own. So I made him an 'intrepreneur'. I learned that word in an entrepreneurship class in college. But it's kinda like - imagine starting a 'business' within the company you work in. It's the way someone can innovate and bring in new ideas while having an actual position in a company. I couldn't imagine Sasuke actually making his own rival company - I think he is proud of his family's history and the company tied to his own name, and wouldn't give that up. **

**Naruto provided Sasuke with the final push he needed to truly use his wealth of knowledge and skills creatively. Naruto was not only his love, but also his inspiration. Naruto's strong will, and the way he _dreams without boundaries_, is the reason for his charisma.** **And Sasuke really saw that in Naruto.**


	8. Restoration

**I finally finished this chapter! I barely edited it because I really wanted to get it out to you guys. I'm really sorry for taking this long! This was meant to be out aaaages ago - I know! But the ideas just didn't come to me and at this point I had no idea how I wanted stuff to unfold!**

**Anyway, enough of me. I hope you enjoy this chapter and are satisfied with it. Because I took this long, I tried to make it at least worth your time. :)**

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><p>It had been two years since Uchiha Sasuke was made the Marketing Executive of Uchiha Group. Right now, he was sitting behind the desk in his office that overlooked a good portion of the city of Konoha, reading over some financial reports. He was about to open last month's spreadsheet when his telephone gave off a series of shrill rings.<p>

Without looking away from his computer screen, he reached across the desk to pick up the receiver.

"Uchiha Sasuke," he answered amidst his work. He was studying the financial data of the stores from the past month and making comparisons to better create a new brand strategy.

_"Mr Uchiha - I'm Watanabe, the Styling Manager of the Konoha shops. I'm sorry for bothering you in the middle of your work, but we're having some trouble..." _

"What is it?" was Sasuke's curt reply as he increased his alertness. It was rare that the Style Department - a small department that the younger Uchiha overlooked independently - contacted him directly.

_"We are currently severely understaffed. We've been struggling to keep up with popular demand for a month now and the HR Department has not responded to our request to hire more stylists." _

The raven might look calm on the outside, but he was cursing inwardly from hearing the news from the Styling Manager. This kind of problem went on for months? What kind of useless idiots worked in the HR Department?

"All right, thank you for informing me. I will take the necessary actions to alleviate this problem."

_"Thank you very much, Mr Uchiha."_

Hanging up, Sasuke opened a drawer under his desk and pulled out a file. The file contained the planned allocation of stylists to different stores. He was going to have to contact the HR Department himself and give them a nice talk about not responding quickly enough to requests. Anymore of this and someone was going to lose their job.

Two years ago, Sasuke created a life-changing proposal that helped shape the path of his career today. He started his own independent project in the company: a new 'Style Department' with their own office space in the Uchiha Group building. . The new department was headed by Sasuke himself, and it managed the personal styling service in all 'UCHIHA' stores.

Today, you would see a separate styling booth in every UCHIHA store, and customers could choose to book, walk-in, or pay-as-you-go. There was also a private styling service for VIPs that provided the customer with their own styling room and personal stylist. Other companies were beginning to catch up and implement the lucrative extension service to their own stores. But there was no doubt that the Uchiha Group was still in the lead in terms of personal and wardrobe styling.

The younger Uchiha leaned back on his chair as he made his decision. Upon analyzing the financial data from the past months, he decided that he would take care of the hiring process himself this time. With the help of the resources from the HR department, he was going to handpick the new selection of stylists. They were going to be top notch and able to handle the changes Sasuke was going to make to their basic styling service. It's going to expand to be so much more, and some planning was needed.

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><p>Needless to say, Sasuke was a little skeptical about this fashion consulting company that was sending a representative to meet with him today. They wanted to talk about their group of professional stylists and why the Uchiha Group should hire them exclusively. But Itachi had insisted that he be the one to attend this meeting, so he had no choice but to go. Normally, he would have either written the company off or sent his secretary (who would send them away).<p>

He rather enjoyed personally setting up human infrastructure to cope with the company's marketing and financial demands, so receiving external assistance was really not his style. Plus, outsourcing the actual _styling_ part of the styling service seemed to miss the point of setting up the department in the first place entirely. But grudgingly, he now sat in one of the smaller meeting rooms near his office, waiting for the arrival of this representative.

There was a gentle knock on the door. Sasuke grunted in response - showing that he was still unhappy about the arrangement - signaling for the person to come in. It might seem kind of strange, but he felt a... change in the atmosphere of the room as the door slowly opened. It was as though the air that displaced into the meeting room from the outside was somehow fresher and brought a new life to the monotonous white and brown environment. In stepped a polished brown leather penny loafer and a crisp white pant leg.

_Gucci_, Sasuke thought of himself as he recognized the shoe, _and white pants from Ralph Lauren. _

Despite being so far thoroughly unimpressed by what he saw, the raven executive had to give the man a mental round of applause as he stepped in from behind the door some more and revealed his green plaid sweater. Whoever that thought of that must be extremely confident with their style - but then again, it was a company of fashion consultants - basically professional stylists.

Sasuke's thoughts were cut short when his eyes traced the man's body up to his neck. He had felt that change in atmosphere; that sudden feeling in his heart as though somehow this meeting was the start of something new. And now he knew why.

Above that smooth tan neck was a familiar mop of blond hair that stuck out in all directions. There was a cheeky smile on the man's lips and a look of amusement in sparkling blue eyes as the 'representative' observed Sasuke's shell-shocked face.

"Good afternoon," said the blond in his professional voice. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto, founder and CEO of Whirlpool Consulting Limited. If you've read our introduction sent to you via email-" Sasuke had a vague recollection of receiving such an email but did not bother to read it this morning. "-our company has only been established for two years, but we have a successful track record that will surely impress you. Thank you for having this meeting with us. I look forward to presenting our partnership proposal to you."

Naruto held out his hand with a small smile on his lips as he stared directly into Sasuke's eyes, a knowing and confident look on his face.

Still stunned and wide-eyed, the raven only responded robotically by accepting the offered hand and shaking it weakly.

It turned out that Naruto's start-up company had been phenomenally successful in the past two years and had secured many opportunities to work with big name celebrities as well as culminating a large base of loyal customers. Naruto was extraordinary at picking out fashion talent to join his company as a consultant or stylist. His eye for talent as well as his warm nature created a great workplace culture that his employees loved. As a result of that, he had one of the best teams of fashion experts under his belt. His was a success story like no other, and Gaara had been a genius for seeing his potential.

Upon hearing that the Uchiha Group wanted to hire new fashion experts to take up the stylist vacancies, Naruto saw an opportunity to create a partnership. The proposal was for the large fashion conglomerate to use Whirlpool Consulting's human capital exclusively for their styling services. All the existing staff in the styling department would become a part of Whirlpool, and the consulting company would take care of the management of the Styling Department. In exchange, Whirlpool would also stop its independent supply of public fashion styling and consulting services, except for its VIP service. This merge could prove to be beneficial to both parties.

"So despite all your success as a private fashion consulting company, you still want a partnership with us, your competition. Why is that?" asked the younger Uchiha as he pondered over the pros and cons of the partnership. Yes, he was currently sitting in the same room, alone, with the man he had loved, and perhaps still loves, but the meeting came first. And he had to admit: the proposal was a good deal.

The blond seemed to think over the question a little before laughing sheepishly. "Well, maybe you haven't discussed this with Itachi yet, but he recently made an investment to our company, so the Uchiha Group is no longer competition, but rather, an ally. In addition, the investment has given us enough capital to expand and relocate our headquarters to Konoha."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow in response but was secretly thanking Itachi for his wonderful investment.

"It sounds like a proposal worth considering thus far. However, are you aware that if the partnership goes through, you may have to relinquish some of the management of your company to the Uchiha Group?"

Naruto paused for a second before nodding. "I'm aware, but as long as it remains a partnership, not a takeover, and we're given the choice to become separate entities again after our first contract period ends."

The younger Uchiha nodded in response and looked over the pages of the proposal once more. The sound of moving paper filled the room. A few moments later, as though suddenly connecting the dots, the raven looked up from the pages to face the blond.

"Excuse my curiosity - I understand the desire the expand, but why are you relocating your headquarters to Konoha?" Sasuke asked inquisitively. He leaned forward on his chair and rested his chin on both his hands.

Naruto chuckled as he mimicked the Uchiha's pose.

"Guess" the blond replied in a playful voice. "But I'll give you a hint. Lets just say there are some things that you only realize you can't live without once it's out of your life."

Sasuke couldn't help but smirk at the response.

"Well, since I feel like I could relate, I suppose I can guess over a dinner for two, tonight at seven. How about that?" said the raven, his tone lowering seductively at the final question.

"Perfect," replied Naruto with a smile of his own, his blue eyes darkening at the huskiness of taller man's voice.

* * *

><p>A young lady got out of the elevator and stopped in front of a pair of glass doors that led to Konoha's best VIP styling service. This area of the building housed the Uchiha Group's most famous and skilled stylist - Uzumaki Naruto. He was the one all women dreamed to meet one day, who was rumored to have the ability to turn any woman into a goddess with a flick of his finger. He was also popular with men as it was said that his first client was a man who was thought to be hopeless.<p>

She had always aspired to meet him someday. And today was the day - she could feel it. She just got out of work and decided to try her luck by walking in without an appointment. She had a feeling that Mr Uzumaki didn't have any clients at this time of the day and would have time for her.

That was when she mustered up enough resolve to push open the glass door, barely masking her surprise in the fact that it wasn't locked. There was a number pad outside of the door but she thought she would just try pushing the door.

Putting those thoughts at the back of her mind, she proceeded to take in her surroundings. Just as she expected, the environment of the space didn't disappoint. Plush red velvet sofas lined the side of the waiting area for customers to line up. Normally, even people with appointments had to wait at least an hour for their turn because Uzumaki Naruto was always overbooked.

For some reason - not today.

The young lady glanced at the antique clock on the wall making ticking noises in the otherwise silent waiting room - it was barely seven. She had an eerie feeling; it was overly quiet. There was nobody at the reception desk to serve her either, which was out of the ordinary.

Maybe everyone's out? She thought of herself. For dinner perhaps? And maybe they just forgot to lock the door. Hmm, how careless for a large company.

Deciding to take her time exploring the rooms of the special styling house anyway, she walked past the reception area and into the hallway with a line of rooms. The doors were marked with numbers and were all closed. She tried to open one of the doors, only to find that they were locked. Pouting, she continued down the hallway.

Soon, she was at the end of the hall and sighed in disappointment. There was nothing here! Nobody was around and everything was deathly silent. The young lady turned around and began to make her way out, deciding to come back later. However, just as she was about to walk back out into the reception area, a small sound captured her senses. She spun around swiftly, desperate to find that someone was indeed in the styling house right now.

Listening carefully, she determined that the sound came from the room at the end of the hallway. Stalking back down the hall, she placed her ear on the door and listened while she tried to see if she could get inside. Finding that the door was locked, she resorted to listening some more before deciding if she would knock to get someone's attention.

* * *

><p>Inside the room, a raven-haired man was currently pressing a blue-eyed blond against the golden velvet cushioned walls of the most expensive VIP suite.<p>

"Mr Uzumaki," he whispered huskily into a tan ear. "I need help with my clothes..."

The blond whimpered at the feeling of lips moving against his ear. "What is it?" he managed to reply, relatively used to the Uchiha's behavior.

"They make me feel hot," said the deep voice. A hand traveled down the side of the blond's torso and stopped at his hips.

Getting into the role, Naruto pressed himself even closer to the raven and leaned into his ear. "Then why don't you take it off - I think that look would suit you so well."

Smirking at the response, Sasuke touched the blond's forehead with his and looked into blue eyes. "Well, I'm really clueless, so I don't know how. Why don't you show me?"

Innocent cerulean blinked as they stared into deep onyx pools. Blue eyes narrowed with a mischievous glint as a pink tongue poked out from full lips.

"As you wish," replied the blond as he placed both hands on the hem of Sasuke's shirt and began unbuttoning it.

Pale skin was slowly revealed as more buttons were undone. Halfway through, Naruto slipped his hands underneath the shirt and began caressing the taller man's sides and back, feeling the way the lean muscles rippled from his touch.

Suddenly, a pair of hands reached out and halted the blond in his actions. Blue eyes looked up to meet black.

"Actually," began the 'client', "This isn't the way I want it to be done. Why don't I show you how I want it?"

Without waiting for a reply, Sasuke gripped the shirt Naruto was wearing and ripped it open, popping all the buttons in the process.

"GAH, that was one of my favorites!" cried the blond as he pouted at the remains of his shirt.

"I'll get you a new one as a part of the payment for your consulting services," said the Uchiha as he smirked appreciatively at the exposed tan torso. "And I'm disappointed. I thought you were the best of the best in fashion consulting, but you fell short of a client's expectations."

Even though Sasuke was clearly just acting out his role, Naruto couldn't help but feel mildly offended by his words.

"I'm sorry about that, Mr Uchiha," the blond said through gritted teeth. "What can I do to make it up to you?"

Chucking lightly, the dark-haired man placed both hands on either side of Naruto's face and leaned in to kiss him lightly on the forehead.

"I love it when you're pissed," commented the raven. "And let me show you what you could do to make up to me," he added, his voice dropping to a low murmur. As he spoke, a hand traveled down the blond's sides and hovered barely over the hipbone. The action caused the smaller male to moan in anticipation.

The sound of the blond's moan was the final push Sasuke needed to place his hand over Naruto's crotch and add a small amount of pressure. He felt hips push forward to increase that pressure but the raven withdrew his hand along with the thrust.

"Be patient," he whispered into the blond's ear. Before Naruto could even retort, he felt his pants zipper go down and a hand reach into his pants to free his erection. Groaning from the sensation, he leaned back against the wall and bit his lip. A sinful hand began to run up and down his erection, causing the blond to pant. However, just as he began thrusting into the hand, it was removed.

"Wha- Sasuke?"

"It's Mr Uchiha, Uzumaki, mind your manners," the Uchiha clipped. "I'll tell you what I want you to do now."

The blond nodded as he subconsciously began to unbutton the rest of the the raven's shirt. Once the shirt was removed, he threw it across the room. It landed on the chair on the other side.

"Follow me," said Sasuke as he turned away. Naruto followed closely behind, rolling his eyes and wishing that they could just get on with it.

Soon, the blond found himself standing in front of his partner, who was lounging on the seat reserved for VIP customers on the other side of the room.

"Kneel," instructed the executive.

The stylist did as he was told, blue eyes narrowing as he knew what to expect next.

"Take it out," the raven said as he pointed at his crotch. Naruto slowly unbuttoned the pants and pulled down the zip, not forgetting to graze his fingers over the erection lightly, teasing the Uchiha a little. Payback.

"Take it out faster, Uzumaki," the dark-haired man hissed in warning. Quickly, Naruto pulled open the offending material of the pants and took out his partner's hot shaft. He felt his own pants tighten further at the sight.

"Now suck."

A pink tongue poked out from the blond's lips as he took a tentative lick at the tip of the erection, fully getting into the role of a consultant getting a 'lesson' from his client. Without any warning, he engulfed the entire shaft and sucked in his cheeks. Knowing that it was one of Sasuke's favorite things, he looked up at the taller man, blue eyes appearing as innocent as possible. At the look in the blond's eyes with his dick in his mouth, the raven groaned and placed a hand behind Naruto's head, urging him to start moving.

Obliging, the blond head began to bob up and down while hands fondled the raven's balls. Sasuke moaned and met Naruto's movement with his thrusts rhythmically, careful not the hurt the other man as he did so. The blond place his hands on either side of the Uchiha's hips, attempting to hold him still, but to little avail. He could feel the taller man's cock throb in his mouth, a sign that he was close. Increasing his speed, Naruto added some more pressure with his tongue, not forgetting to lick the tip slightly before engulfing the erection whole again. However, just as the blond knew Sasuke was about to come, the raven held him firmly by the shoulders and pushed him back.

Blue eyes stared up at obsidian, confused, but the dark-haired man only replied with a smirk before swiftly pushing the blond against the desk before him and bending him over.

"Do you understand how sinful you look with your erection hanging out of your pants and my dick in your mouth while you stare up at me?" The raven whispered seductively into Naruto's ear from behind.

The blond only whimpered in response as he pushed his ass back at the Uchiha to try and rub himself against him.

"Getting impatient now, aren't we?" said Sasuke. "I'll give it to you, but you have to ask nicely first."

"Nnnngh." Biting his lip, Naruto readjusted his own weight on his arms and turned his head back to stare straight at dark obsidian eyes. "Please... just take me, Mr Uchiha... F-fuck me!"

The raven smirked at the words.

"Hn, you're getting really good at this."

And with that, a finger was inserted into Naruto's ass.

"Ahhh! You could have warned me first!" the blond cried as his eyes clenched shut from the intrusion. He let out a series of lewd moans as Sasuke hit the right spots inside him - the raven knew exactly how to get Naruto desperate for more.

The stylist had a firm grip on the edge of the table as the 'client' seemed to pull a some lube out of nowhere (it was in his pocket because he came prepared) and coated his fingers with it. The cold sensation that hit Naruto couldn't be described as uncomfortable but it certainly felt foreign - just like every other time - as Sasuke an extra finger and prepared the blond.

No matter how many times they did this, Naruto still felt his stomach coil in anticipation whenever his partner removed his fingers to replace them with something much bigger. He gasped as he felt the tip of an erection poke at his entrance.

There was a pause as the blond waited for the next move, but after ten seconds of waiting, he began hissing impatiently.

The Uchiha chuckled darkly at his stylist's antics and leaned forward to whisper in the tan ear.

"Since you've been such a good consultant today and fulfilled all my desires," he began, not forgetting to caress the shell of Naruto's ear as he spoke. The blond whimpered quietly at the subtle feeling. "I'll reward you."

Before he could even comprehend the taller man's words, he felt something large and hard bury itself inside him in one swift motion.

"Ah!" The first moment was always a mixture of pain and an indescribable feeling that could only be achieved in that moment. The room was quiet save for the constant heavy breathing from Naruto as he slowly adjusted to the size while Sasuke waited.

Wriggling slightly, the blond gave his partner a nod as he turned his head to look back at him.

"I'm ready," he said, before bracing himself for what he was expecting. Even though this was far from their first time, Naruto still felt like he was being impossibly stretched during the beginning.

Sasuke bit his lip, trying to hold back a lengthy moan, which he turned into a soft sigh as he pushed in and out of the hole of the beautiful man before him. Reaching down with both hands, he took hold of the blond's erect nipples and caressed them before pinching lightly, causing the blond to gasp ad heave at the combined sensations.

Together, they danced back and forth in the most expensive VIP suite, surrounded by softly padded gold walls. The suite was filled with the lovers' sighs and moans as they shared a love and an attraction that could only be experienced by few with such intense chemistry.

"I-I'm close!" Naruto called out as he tightened his grip on the desk, burying his face into the elegant mahogany. In response, Sasuke gripped his erection in one hand and began to pump to the rhythm of his thrusts. Not even ten seconds later, the blond was shaking and crying out in pleasure as he came onto a pale hand.

The stylist collapsed on the table, exhausted, as the raven behind him thrusted in and out a few more times before reaching his climax and releasing inside. Naruto felt the heat of semen filling up his insides and slowly dripping out. He let it run down the inside of his thighs as he regained his senses. A weight settled on his back as Sasuke also collapsed on top of him.

* * *

><p>Outside, the eavesdropping young lady was frantically trying to stop her nose bleed with a tissue while she tried to make sense of what she just heard.<p>

_The famous Mr Uzumaki - the one she admired and dreamed of meeting someday - he... ! In the VIP room!_

Her train of thought of a jumble of short circuits as she raced out of the styling house, still holding a tissue to her nose. It was safe to say that she wouldn't be coming back soon.

* * *

><p>"That," the blond began, still resting on the table, a thin layer of sweat glistening on his light caramel skin from exertion. "was good."<p>

"Told you you'd like role-play."

Naruto chuckled lightly. "It's not really role-playing we're playing the roles we actually hold in real life."

Sasuke smirked at the response. "Does that mean you'd like to try more 'realistic' role-play?"

"No!" replied the blond quickly before a devious smile graced his lips. "Only if it's with the proper costumes."

At that, the raven laughed. "I'm sure I could accommodate."

* * *

><p><strong>End of Chapter 8. End of The Stylist. <strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Please review and tell me what you think! Hope you liked it. I spent soooo long on this chapter - I had a serious writer's block, haha.<strong>

**This is also technically the final chapter of this fanfic because this is where my original plot ends. I could write an epilogue sometime (maybe some of that costume role-play, hahaha). In any case, I'll mark this story as complete. **

**I really hope you enjoyed The Stylist. I haven't written any fanfiction in years so this is like a whole new thing again to me. I'm going to be really busy after this because college starts up again soon. So I won't be writing anything new soon. But! Feel free to throw out any ideas for me if you want. :)**

**_Thank you to all my reviewers of this story._ You guys are the reason why I even update as fast as I did. (Once a week is REALLY fast for my record - I used to be that once every few months type of author...)**


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